Madness Effect
by Jyggilag
Summary: I had this weird idea for a crossover the other day. Been writting it for a while. Pairings? none for Alice for now. For Shepard? I dunno maybe miranda, we'll see. I'm more focused in the plot than in pairings for now. summary is inside.Rated M for Language.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** After her battle against the Dollmaker, Alice's delusions and hallucinations had became so powerful that were able to break the barrier between wonderland and the real world; what she didn't know was that even time could be overcome by the power of her mind. Now after a very stressful ordeal Alice would find herself stranded almost 300 years in the far future, not knowing if Shepard and his crew are real or just another figment of her imagination, she would have to trust in them in hopes of coping with her new surroundings. But; even the future has its own monsters that defy all comprehension and Alice will find herself in a kind of struggle by no chance unknown to her.

**Author's note:** Well here I am writing this crossover that nobody has thought about before, many of you will consider it weird, since this 2 series are totally different and opposite and may be wondering why in the hell I am writing this? The answer is simple; Why the hell not?

I was playing Alice madness returns (By the way nice win by EA for putting the first Alice alongside his sequel, I was so pleased when I discovered that I had bought 2 games for the price of one) I finished the game: I like it, nice art direction, great story though it can become a little heavy and tiresome in the gameplay department, I had not played a platform game since the crash bandicoots of psx.

Anyway, I notice the seal of EA in the box, I don't give much thought about it so I start to see trailers and videos of upcoming game releases; Deus Ex Human Revolution, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Rage and of course Mass Effect 3.

So I'm watching the videos then I noticed the EA seal appearing alongside the Bioware one. Then I remembered that EA had bought Bioware and all his licenses and works were now intellectual property of EA. So I started to think; can both games that belong to the same company be mixed? And that is how I got the idea for this crossover. It started as an afterthought, but then I got obsessed with the idea and well… here's the result. Now if anyone's wondering why I called this crossover madness effect; well… It sounds much better than wonderland effect, which by the way I found it so predictable and unimaginative; and of course there will be lot's of madness and weird situations.

**Madness effect**

**Prologue **

**Remembrance; How to pick the pieces of a broken life**

It's been almost a month since Alice defeated the Dollmaker and of the death of doctor Bumby. For much of that time Alice has been trying to rest, to stitch back together the strands of her fragmented mind. Her wonderland was heavily marred by Dr. Bumby's manipulations, but slowly and surely it was beginning to show signs of recovery.

It was a delicate process, one that required extremely care if Alice did not want for wonderland to come crashing down along with was left of her sanity. The memory erasing of Dr. Bumby had almost succeeded in making her lost track of her very being. But thankfully all of that was now past, she could breathe with easy knowing it was over and left behind. She could relax and focus in the healing of the world inside her head.

With Bumby's death; the ownership of his orphanage: The Hounsditch home and refuge for wayward youth, was left vacant. Dr Bumby; that deluded arrogant prick was so full of himself, so enwrapped on his own pretenses and false righteousness, that he didn't even thought in the possibility of his own failure; the result was that there was no will for all his belongings and property. No one was there to handle the estate and the children. No one cared; except for her.

She had to work hard to ensure that the orphanage stayed open. Taking all manners of odds and menial works: from waitress to paper deliverer, to chimney cleaner, to fish gutting. Anything that could give her the income to maintain the orphanage and its children; She didn't complain, in fact, on the contrary she enjoy it. The physical weariness gave her peace of mind. Hard work kept her mind from wandering into dark places.

Besides; the children like it when she arrive back home bearing candies and traits for them. Her relationship with the orphans had improved greatly in the past month. After having released them from Bumby's mental control, the children were left aimless, lost and scared. So Alice took care of them and tried to undo the damage made by the doctor, she was no renowned psychologist with a fancy title, but she considered herself somewhat versed in the aspects of the mind, if her journeys through wonderland could be considered a learning experience. She used a thing which Bumby had never heard of, much less experienced. That thing was love, seeing the little ones in such state made something ache in Alice's heart, and so just like her sister had taken care of her during her childhood, Alice took care of the orphans in the same way.

She had to be patient, extremely so and comprehensive. She had to make them trust her, not shun her or fear her. She had to become their support, their lifeguard, the light that would guide them through darkness. It was ironic if you thought about it. A lonely, broken and mad girl taking care of an army of crying wrecked infants. It had not been easy, but she had managed.

Bumby had really done a work with their little heads. The memory of it just irked her and made her furious. Stealing the mind of children, erasing their memories and identities; breaking their wills and forcing them into slavery and a life of prostitution. Alice's blood boiled at the memory of those crimes. Even more so, when she remembered at how the leech had tried to do the same to her in order to hide his involvement in the deaths of Alice's parents and the rape and murder of his beloved elder sister; Lizzie.

She had to stop dwelling in that feeling, after all she had finally achieved retribution. She now had recovered all of her memories alongside her identity and had dealt with the murderer of her family with her own hands. She even had recovered the key that locked Lizzie's room, taken by Bumby that dreadful night. The key was now a memento, a reminder of her past, of her family, of her sister. She put it in a small, delicate chain that now hangs loosely from her neck; it looked nice if a little odd as a piece of jewelry.

But enough about that, right now all that Alice should be worried about is getting enough rest, for both her and the children and of course wonderland. Everything was more peaceful now; the children still believe she's a crazy girl, mad as a hatter they say, sometimes that makes her laugh. She doesn't blame them; she knows she is not completely right on her head, partially thanks to Bumby. But at least she is not a walking lifeless wreck as the _good doctor_ had intended for her, and the children like her despite or maybe because of her craziness.

And why would they not? She had shared the memories and dream of wonderland with them. At first; when she had told them about wonderland while under the influence of doctor Bumby, her stories had beared odd results. The children made strange drawings and played in weird manners, a form for them to coup because they did not know what to think of her wonderland. Its true that in the past she had already tried to explain her wonderland to the children, but because of Bumby, those efforts were useless and only managed to make the children to shun her and pick on her.

But now, without Dr. Bumby manipulations and in order to break the spell he had casted upon their minds; she showed them her dream of wonderland in full, just like she had done with her sister a long time ago.

Lizzie saw, knew about her wonderland. She had played with her among those dream lands and kept the secret of her secret world. Now after so long, she remembered how to share her dream, ironically enough, thanks to Bumby. It was during the last moments of the perverted doctor's life, when she had claimed her vengeance. And so, Alice's was able to show others her wonderland, she brought the children with her during later trips and they were marveled by it.

It was a fascinating experience for them being witness of wonderland beauty, of his colors and his magic. After that they would play and pretend they were still in wonderland, imaging its vast valleys of colors and its endless fields. It gave the children a chance to act like children, to play in ignorant bliss of the harshness and cruelty of an uncaring world; a chance to be free and carefree. They were grateful to her for that.

Obviously; one young missy like Alice could not be able to deal with such a little army of toddlers all by herself for long. She required help, so she addressed the only person from her past that was willing to help her unconditionally; her nanny.

Regardless of Nan Sharpe being a prostitute and a tramp, there is no other person whom Alice would trust and go for help, and Nan could not refuse to lend aid to the last member of the family she once served so fondly and diligently. Nan Sharpe was always a person of strength and indomitable will. Refusing to bend down and break under duress, always finding a way to keep moving forward despite any setback, Nan would indeed be of great help; besides, is not like she had other places to go or better things to do, not since the fire that destroyed the mangled mermaid (Nan's Brothel) Alice's proposition gave her not only a place to stay but also a purpose, some people just need the basic things in life.

Nan proved a great deal of help for Alice during the following weeks. Having a great deal of experience in how to deal with children due to her days as Nanny, Nan Sharpe was able to keep the toddlers in line. When Alice felt like falter Nan Sharpe was there to be her support, she would not allow Alice to surrender, she had taught her better than that. Certainly the Nan was a remarkable woman.

Nan's help gave Alice the opportunity to dedicate herself more deeply to the task of securing a steady income for the orphanage. This endeavor proved quite a handful for both women. One taking almost over 3 different jobs at a time and the other dedicated to guard the children almost full time. So occupied was Nan that she didn't even had time to think of restoring herself into her previous profession, the oldest of all professions; the one that has maintained her all this years since the fire that destroyed Alice's life.

Of course most of the time it was not easy for the duo; more often than not the atmosphere inside the Houndsditch home was quite hectic. Amazing, was the fact that Nan Sharpe could make her voice be heard above all the chaotic cacophony of noise, made by a bunch of children screaming and shouting at the same time.

"Tomas! no jumping on the mattress"

"Benny, do not pick your nose child"

"Who leaved these toys in the middle of the stairs?"

"Elbows off the table, hands on laps"

"Why there is a doll hanging from the chandelier?... Sarah!"

"Vicky! Eat your greens or you will get warts, and stop tossing them at Billy; Are you some kind of savage or what?"

Situations like this were very common occurrence.

Nan Sharpe, despite her experience could not avoid of becoming a little bit overwhelmed sometimes, so she had to call for a little assistance. Having been one of the top Abbesses of London's underground for many years had gave her a great amount of loyalty and respect from the city's whores and prostitutes. So she simply sent word to her most close and trustworthy girls to lend her a hand. Of course she would not call every single Ladybird in London to help her. Not all would be forthcoming to her call; she just wanted those that had enough of a life selling their backsides and aspired for something else or those who were extremely fond of her. They proved a great deal of help for Nan despite what one may think.

Alice was surprised one day when she returned from work and found the refuge being now run by former prostitutes, despite her uneasiness, she didn't berate her Nan for it, well… At least not that much. Not after all these years and especially not after their little conversation.

_Flashback_

_It was late in the evening when Alice returned to the orphanage, filthy and full of grim in hands and hair after having spent the whole day working at the docks gutting fish or mopping floors and decks only to find Nan Sharpe slumped in a mattress._

"_Nan Sharpe, are you all right" Asked the young woman in concern for her childhood warden._

"_Huh?... Oh! Hello Alice my dear, glad to see you back home. But look at you girlie, in what manner you decide to arrive? What kind of image is that? Seems to me that working about double in brass is being quite rough on you._

"_Well, it would seem I'm not the only one who's had a particular rough day, isn't it?"_

_Nan Sharpe made a tired laugh, showing her immaculate white teeth, many would found it a rare sight, a prostitute with a perfect denture, but Nan was always a stern person regarding oneself image if Alice recalled. She used to remind her at every opportunity of the importance of always looking proper and tidy, regardless of any personal issue or hierarchical position._

"_That you are correct Alice; don't get me wrong, is nice to be able to tutor toddlers again, but it seems I had forgotten how tiresome it can be taking care of the little chaps. My old bones can barely keep up with them and those stories of yours about your wonderland can really get them all excited"_

_Nan Sharpe offered a tired smile to Alice. It did nothing to reassure her, on the contrary in only make her feel guiltier for making her former babysitter deal with all the children of the Houndsditch home by herself during the day. She offered her deeply apologies to her Nan._

"_I'm sorry Nan for complicating your life with my burdens. I should have never insisted that you helped me. It's only wearing you down"_

_Nan Sharpe waved her off, the concern of Alice was touching but unnecessary "C'mon Alice, Don't be so dense. You know I'm glad to help you my dear. It's just this old laced mutton is no longer fit to be dealing with so many chavys anymore. I think I'm going to have to require some help to keep the toddlers under control…mmph… Yes, I think I would, don't be so surprised if you soon find the house a little bit crowded, alright?"_

"_Sure Nan, I'll keep it in mind"_

"_Good! Now girl, come over here. I remember the way in which I used to teach you and Miss Lizzie the magnificent language of music. Do you remember? The piano and singing lessons; you used to have such a melodious voice, dear. Oh, but I bet you haven't been practicing in all this years; your musician skills must be quite lacking as of late is it not?"_

_Alice rubbed the back of her neck, somewhat embarrassed that her Nan had remembered her music talents._

"_I still know how to play the piano the way you taught me Nan, sometimes I play lullabies for the children in it or I just simply play it because I'm bored. But yes, I must confess that I have been neglecting my singing talents over the years. They must be quite diminished by now. I… I can't even remember the last time I sang"_

"_Well my dear, it seems to me we'll have to correct that, right? So come on. Come to your Nan and let's get starting shall we?"_

_End of Flashback_

Of course the last thing that Alice would have expected was a squad of tuffers taking over the Orphanage. Again, Alice could not find the heart to berate her Nan for it, seeing as how she was in dire need for assistance. So she decided to make a little inquiry about it.

"Well? It would seem you were quite right about the house becoming a little crowded Nan. But, should I ask? Why all the help you acquired is composed entirely of Judies?

"Now Alice, you know better than most that appearances can be a deceiving thing, right?" Funny that Nan decided to use that particular sentence, it made Alice remember the admonishments of a certain cat "these lasses are all quite trustworthy. I should know; I was the one that teach them the ropes when they started in their careers as muttons. They all would be a lot worse for wear, if not broken, if I had not found them. Don't let their past deceive you; they are quite the dedicated lot, you'll see".

Alice could not found a way to contradict her Nan assurances, so she relented "Very well Nan; I shall trust in your judgment as always. I was only concerned that this may give the orphanage quite an unpleasant reputation and may attract unwanted attention of the troublesome kind towards us"

That made Nan thinking, it is true indeed that not many would look at this with kind eyes. People like to make the most outlandish gossip out of the most harmless of things. "You may have a point there my dear, but fear not. Your Nan will think of something as always. I will not let you and the children without a home and my girls without hope"

And so it all turned into quite the particular situation. The orphanage being handled by ex-whores and the one who brought the sustenance was a lonely -mildly off her rock- girl. Nevertheless things did start to improve after all. Eventually the problem of gaining income for the orphanage was resolved. Many of Nan acquaintances decided to help Alice in her quest to keep a steady stream of income; Working now in more or less respectable or at least acceptable trends of work. Doesn't mean that these jobs were easy or leaved them with as much as they used to gain before, but together they managed to scrap by and it was a lot better for their self esteem than working as whores.

The Houndsditch home and refuge changed with this new development, not only it became a home for the orphan children, but also a safe haven for the hopeless and weary. Especially for young women, who may now find a place where they could try to rebuild to get back on their feet and rebuild their lives, rather than becoming one of the lost souls that wandered the docks at night selling their bodies and souls for a penny.

Sadly, as Alice predicted, this brought the attention of the most shadiest and unsavory characters from London's society. Who were not happy at seeing their business suddenly dropping due to lack of labor, especially when the place in question that used to provide them with fresh _merchandise_ and said labor; was now hampering their efforts instead.

Of course they tried to demand the closure of the orphanage, but Nan Sharpe knew how to deal with them. There was also the problem of dealing with the more _dignified _and _respected _members of society. That as predicted didn't saw kindly at the refuge new management. Lawyers, politicians, priests, law enforcement officers, even the occasional _concerned _citizen, all of them were troubles that needed to be addressed.

But Nan as always, had a solution. She had to call a few favors and get in contact with some people, doing what one would call rustling a few feathers; but in the end all of that pesky people was kept at a healthy length away from the orphanage. After all even prostitutes keep tabs of whom they serve. Being one of the most senior abbesses of London allows Nan to be privy to that sort of information. It is pointless getting in the details of what transpired and what dealings were made. It seems obvious enough.

But these little trifles showed that the refuge needed a more tangible way of being secured, not only in an evident way as keeping undesirables at bay, but also the issue of gaining the ownership of the place. Getting hold on the orphanage grounds would had been a lot more easier if Alice could had made use of her inheritance; sadly Wilton J. Radcliffe -Lawyer of Alice's family and by extension her lawyer and the holder of her fortune until she _recovered _herself from her mental strain- would never let the assets -that so justly belong to her- be spent in such a crummy transaction, as he deferred to their plans. Blasted sodding tightwad, Nan called him, she have always had a poor impression of Radcliffe, usually referring to him as a greedy sod. Not that she was wrong in any aspect; Radcliffe love for money had proved a major hindrance for their efforts.

Luckily for them the solution was going to arrive literally right at their doors, having returned crestfallen from their meeting with Radcliffe, Nan had to tell her _assistants_ the bad news, she was rendered numb-struck at how quickly they mobilized to resolve the situation. They went out and spoke with fellow Judies, who even though they had refused previously to leave their trend of work to become one Nan helpers, by no means that meant they were not fond of the old Nan. They had heard about the good that the new management was doing for the orphanage and would not leave the old Nan alone in her time of need. Almost all of Nan friends, coworkers, acquaintances, those who were at once upon a time serving under her wing or had moved in the same circles as her, had come to lend her a hand.

They donated their savings to help the old Nan, no matter how hefty or meager it was; all contributed to ensure that the houndistch home would remain under its residents hands. Nan was relieved and Alice was awestrucked, she knew her Nan was an easily liking person but she never would have imagined how many people were fond or grateful of her Nan. It was such a pleasant surprise. By buying the state, the houndsditch home became a legal property for Nan to develop in any way she fancied it.

With that matter resolved there was still the issue of getting some form of protection for the refuge and its inhabitants. Luckily for Nan many of her mates that used to work for her in the mangled mermaid had not yet found a new place for work; or live as many of them used to have permanent lodgings inside the brothel before the fire brought the place down.

So Nan simply call them, exchange some words, laid a few promises here and there and pretty soon the orphanage had brand new caretakers securing and keeping a steady vigilance on the state grounds. Nan knew all of them, even Alice knew some of those faces too. Like little john, the younger brother of the late big John, who was murdered by Jack Splatter the night of the fire in the mangled mermaid. Little john knew both Nan and Alice, although he hadn't spoke much with them before. He knew his brother had been rather fond of the two women, engaging in conversation with the two he soon found out why. By his brother memory little John vowed to guard the two and his place of residence, just like his brother had done so.

Sadly, even though the orphanage was now up and running again; and in a much better fashion than previously before. That did little to stop trouble from coming knocking back into Alice's life. Ironically enough, thanks for the thriving of the houndsditch home. It came in the form of another figure from Alice's past. Priscilla "_Pris_" Witless.

Ms. Witless wanted to think of herself as an honest, helpful and charitable person who only wanted to receive her due recognition for treating and taking care of Alice during her illness. In reality she was little more than a bully. An envious and petty old woman who mistreated and abused Alice during her convalescence; later on she would still take advantage of her by blackmailing her in exchange of money. All that she really wanted was to get a hefty grab on Alice's inheritance.

Alice's inheritance has been a subject that had brought her all kind of troubles into her life. Even though, a few years back she had not yet come to age in order to claim it and more recently -despite already being of age- she has been diagnosed as mentally unsuitable to collect the entire whole of it. That hasn't stopped others from trying to get a hold over Alice in order to gain access to her family riches.

It has been a tricky and sometimes grim business. With the fire resulting in the death of Alice's family: this being her parents and her sister Elizabeth. Most all of their savings passed unto her, even though her mother and her sister had inheritances for each one respectively. But with their demise the assets were to pass to next of kin, that being her. For belongings there was not much after the fire, only the property were the state used to be, still intact except for the charred remains of what used to be her childhood home. Regardless, Alice had a somewhat sizeable fortune in store for her, because of this she became a target for unsavory individuals. Individuals like Priscilla witless.

The Old hag made her sudden entrance, uninvited one day; she was lucky to have found Alice still at home -much to her dismay- and intercepted her on her way out, Alice easily recognized her by her greeting.

"My Stars and garters! if it isn't Alice Liddell? What a surprise! It's been a couple of months since I last saw you child. If I didn't knew better I'd said you been avoiding me"

"Pris Witless?"

Alice was clearly not in the mood to be dealing with Pris right now, her new found insight would not allow her to leave the mistreatment she had suffered because of her, unanswered. But she knew it would be detrimental to face her in the open, so against her wishes she tried to hide her disgust the best she could with a false nonchalant expression.

"Well? Absence makes the heart grow fonder or so they say" she remarked.

"Yes, yes quite true" the old woman assented in a too much sweet voice "Is nice to see you again, dear girl –"_I bet"_ Alice thought- I've heard of the passing of poor Dr. Bumby. Such sorrowful news, he was such a caring person. I must been difficult for you and the rest of those poor children to carry on without him"

Alice flinched a little at the mention of Dr. Bumby; but quickly reasserted herself. She could not let the old nurse to suspect that she was responsible for bumby's demise. She politely replied.

"Certainly, it hasn't been easy. His passing affected me and the children deeply, but we have managed to go without him somehow"

"Oooh! Not just somehow, if I dare say" countered the old woman with a sleazy grin on her creased face. It did not reassured Alice in the slightest. "I've heard that the old Houndstich home has been faring quite well as of late, if not better compared as how it used to"

Alice started fiddling with her fingers inadvertently. She knew what the old hag was trying to imply; that she used money from her inheritance to improve the orphanage. Alice was aware of the old woman intentions, she needed it to steer the subject away.

"Yes indeed, all of it thanks to Nan. I swear; if she didn't had stepped up, the orphanage would had surely crumbled down on itself"

Pris mood suddenly grew sour "Ah yes, **her**" she remarked, clearly not fond of Nan Sharpe "Well? I suppose it has merit that she has finally done something good with her life. Quite laudable of her to be aiding you and the little ones in your time of need. Although I can't help but wonder; what kind of image had she been giving to the orphanage? There has been so much gossip on the street and not all of it is good I'm afraid"

"Well, I wouldn't know anything about that" Alice said, trying to appear oblivious "Nan Sharpe is simply trying to keep us well fed and out of trouble. I don't know how can anyone think wrong from what she's trying to do?"

"Well, I'm glad to see you're faring well child" Pris decided to take reign of the conversation, not willing to keep talking about Nan Sharpe anymore. After all she had come with a clear goal in mind. "Say, I'm afraid I found myself in a rather tight situation right now, would you mind to help an old Lady to maintain her coots? They required the occasional penny to be spent here and there in order to function, as you know. After all you promised that you would help me, you've not been very diligent with your obligations".

There she is spewing her veiled threats and demands not so subtly. Alice was hoping that she could distract her and send her away. Oh but she forgot how narrow minded Pris is. Still, she had managed to stall the subject for a while. But now confrontation was unavoidable.

"Ah yes! Your coots; I was beginning to wonder when would you start demanding endowment from me"

"Demanding? Please Alice, don't overreact in such a way. I am merely asking you to lend a hand to this poor old woman; surely there must be somewhere in your heart with a shrew of decency. You have all this gifts and blessings given to you, all I ask is that you share a little to help me in my time of need. You would not send this old lady away on her own, wont you? Not after all I've done for you"

That was the straw that pushed Alice over the edge "All you've done for me?" she moved closer to witless looking intently at her eyes, it made the old hag feel uncomfortable "You know? Something curious happened right before the good doctor died. Doctor Bumby had finally managed to make a breakthrough in my condition"

"Really? He had?" Asked witless momentarily stunned by the revelation "Alice, those are wonderful news my dear. I knew the good doctor was going to be able to help you. Didn't I, had told you so? Now you see how a good thing it was that I had brought you to him in the first place"

"Oh! He really helped me indeed, mind you not in a way that he had expected to. You see I've managed to recall all of my memories and also I no longer suffer from an identity crisis either".

Alice voice and manners turned cold and harsh at this point "I remember exactly the kind of _Help _that you gave me. I remember what you and nurse Cratchet and her goons did to me all those years in the Asylum. I remember the abuse, the beatings, the unauthorized _therapies _and _surgeries_; I suppose I should thank you for all those threats about drilling a hole into my skull or all those times I got my blood being sucked out of my body. You're right witless, there is much to thank for. Don't you worry I will make sure you receive what you so rightfully deserve" she stated harshly.

Witless was sweating hard. She would had dismissed Alice's ranting by know, saying she was again in another of her loony fits if not for the cold focused hateful glare she was giving her. In all the years that she has been taking advantage of her, she had never seen her like this. That pure unbridled hate alongside the absolute certainty in her eyes.

"Alice my dear, you must be confused, I've always strived to do what was best for you"

"QUIET! Spare me the platitude" shouted Alice "We both know that you really don't care about me Pris. You only want to use me to get your feeble old hands on the money I'm entitled to. That is why you simply tossed me into Bumby's _care_" she berated putting emphasis in the word care "You're so transparent Pris. A simpleton old woman who cannot resist her urges of sucking the life out of other people. You really are true to your name _Witless_ "

"You wretched ungrateful child" shouted back the old woman, losing all pretense of kindness "What would have become of you if it wasn't for me? You would be selling your behind like a common whore, just like your precious old Nan; alas it would seem that despite my best efforts you've still managed to dwell around such unsuitable company. Just like before, trying to help you is nothing more than a waste of my time; it was the same back in the Asylum. We tried to help you but you didn't cooperate, you just stood there unmoving and unfazed while good honest working people made their best efforts to cure you out of the goodness of their hearts without asking for nothing in return. It seems all those efforts have gone to waste, an ungrateful brat like you was not worthy of them. You're such a disappointment; I should not be surprised that you have let me down yet again"

"Best efforts? As far I can remember all of them were quite lazy and lacking in labor. The only thing you excelled at was at how good and quick you were to complain. Seems to me you have become a master of whimpering" Retorted Alice looking like if trying to carve a hole in Pris head with her glare.

Both women stood stiff at their places, staring at each other with venomous glares. Their standoff was broken thanks to the interruption of little john, who's attention was caught by all the shouts and ruckus of the two women.

"There be a problem here, ladies? Do you need a hand?" he asked.

"No, everything is fine little john" answered Alice without taking her gaze form witless "In fact Mrs. Witless was just saying her goodbyes"

Pris took a little glance at little John, taking notice of his burly complexion and how he looked more like a thug than an orderly. Knowing this was her cue to leave"

"Yes it seems I have overstayed my welcoming here. Is a long walk home, better be on my way then while there's still light of day" she turned around to leave before Alice called back to her.

"Do not be worried about your coots, witless. I shall take care of it next evening after I'm done at work. We shall deal with our business once and for all"

"Charming" Replied the older woman "I'll be waiting. Don't you forget" and with that the old hag stormed out of the house.

Alice released a deep sigh she didn't know she was holding. "You alright miss?" asked little john.

"Yes… I'm fine John, just a bit weary that's all. Is nothing that a good cup of tea will not fix. Thanks for your assistance john, you may go now".

"Oi! Missy. I'll be around if ye' need me" said the rugged man before departing.

Alice was starting to settle her nerves when suddenly, she hear a rich cultured voice behind her. She knew exactly who the voice belonged to.

"You sure that was wise? Taunting your enemies in such needless manner. That old woman will not let this insult pass" questioned the owner of the voice "I believe I had warned you before on how challenges rarely go unmet"

Alice glanced partially behind her; only to found 2 golden eyes looking straight at her intently and a long and impossible wide grin beaming at her. The Chesire Cat, since Bumby's death and the creation of the new place were her wonderland and the real world collides, the place she had dubbed Londerland. Some of Alice's imaginary creations and friends have beginning to make act of presence in the real world and started having direct interactions with her. At first it caused her so much hassle, not knowing if her hallucinations were able to affect the real world, or if she was simply getting worse in her condition. Highly upsetting since this had never happened before. She still didn't know whether they could be spotted by others or if it was just her, the only one able to see them. They had the tendency to hide or disappear when someone else was getting close. It leaded her to all manners of awkward situations with Nan and the other residents of the Houndsditch home. But since they were not particularly disposed to get spotted; Alice decided to get their apparitions in stride, most of the time it allow her to deal with the situation more easily.

"Tell me cat; why should I not? I have complete recollection of my past now and that old witch has done nothing but abusing and taking advantage of me at every turn. Why should I let her keep blackmailing me for something I didn't do?"

Chesire simply shook his head in refusal "It really does not matter whether you're innocent or not anymore, Alice. What does matter is the way the situation may look. Events and situations can be shaped to suit the needs of the molder. It can distract and fool the peasantry into believing anything that you may want. It's surprising how often people turn blind and deaf to the truth, even when is standing in front of them. I fear this little mishap of yours will bring terrible retribution"

"Well! I don't care how manipulative she can be. I will not let anyone walk over in such manner ever again. Don't you worry cat, I will make sure that she doesn't bother me anymore. I think it would be best for me to deal with this issue sooner rather than later"

The cat bolted quickly at her and stood in front of Alice, standing rigidly in his four legs "Careful, Alice. Do not be so quick and naïve as to think that you can get rid of all the unwanted baggage in your life without making sure it is feasible first. Remember! people often let themselves guide by the appearances of others and I'm afraid yours is quite stained already"

Alice pondered the statements of the feline before reaching a conclusion.

"Maybe, but still I cannot let this injustice continue. This only reinforces my resolve to dealing with this problem as soon as possible"

"So you think is a good idea to face your enemies unprepared? Suit yourself; I just hope you know what you're doing. It will be a shame to see all that you have achieved in the last couple of months had to be for naught"

And with that the Chesire cat disappeared with his smile being the last thing to fade away.

* * *

><p>Alice entered into Witless's apartment from the back entrance and climbed the stairs up to the roof. As promised she had come to put an end to the ugly business that the old hag had on her. Even though she despised the old woman greatly, Alice didn't particularly desires to cause harm on her. She didn't find appealing the notion of harming a decrepit old woman, no matter how much a horrible person she was. But she needs to ensure that she would get her out of her back. She would confront her and demand her out of her life forever. With a bit of luck, all that would be required will be just a tiny bit of intimidation. Just enough to ensure putting witless on her place, If that failed, then the bottle of spirits that she had bought before heading in here may give her a chance to catch Pris in a more forthcoming disposition. After all, it was barely a secret that Priscilla Witless has quite the penchant for the drink. The vices of the former nurse may prove useful to her desires.<p>

Reaching the end of the stairs; Alice found as expected the old crook on the roof tending to her coots. What Alice did not expect was the police officer standing alongside her.

"Glad you came with me officer; I'm sorry for having interrupted your patrol but I really needed to get in contact with a policeman" spoke the manipulative old woman.

"No problem at all ma'am, that's why we're here. To serve and protect" replied the officer.

"Oh, I'm glad then. You see, I been having so many doubts as of late. I know a very terrible truth indeed. A girl I know -such pretty and fragile thing- has committed a dreadful act. I have guarded her secret and kept my mouth shut for several years without asking anything in return; because I had faith in her. I didn't want to condemn her to a life with no future at such a young age; after all she has her whole life ahead of her. But lately I have seen her condition worsening. I'm afraid she has been unable to coup well with some changes that have occurred quite recently in her life. Is a hard thing to admit but, I fear she is no longer able to control herself anymore and as much as it pains me… I am unable to keep guarding her secret any longer. I feel I must do the right thing"

"YOU LEECHEROUS MACER!" screamed Alice.

The policeman and witless were left momentarily stunned by Alice's interruption, allowing her to close the distance between her and Pris unhindered. Once she was standing in front of her; Alice was able to gave her a more appropriate salutation"

**-¡SLAP!-**

"Curse you! You bloody downy, if you think I will simply stand motionless while you prattle such slander about me, you are so sorry mistaken" Screamed Alice in outrage.

Pris was astonished. How did the little twat dared to slap her? **HER!** The nerve, the ungratefulness, she couldn't believe it. She will not let this slide.

"You thankless misbegotten child! This is how you repay me after all I've done for you? I thought I had explained you what would happen if you didn't behave?"

"And that will be what?" berated Alice back at Priss "Only the ramblings of a troubled child after the dead of her family, wrongly blaming herself for their deaths? How you dare to judge me and convict me for my pain? You are indeed a despicable selfish woman witless. Maybe the good officer should take in consideration the source of the information; after all I doubt that the word of a well known kanurd like you should have the same weight as the diagnosis of well respected doctors. So how about you shut it and go back to your drink? Here! I even brought you some spirits that you can gorge yourself into"

Alice tossed the bottle of spirits violently at Pris feet. It shattered with a splash and leggings the hunchbacked woman dress and shoes with its contents.

"That's enough missy. You best behave or I'll have to run you in for assaulting an elder. So back off" ordered the policeman.

Witless on the other hand would have none of it. The trollop had called her a drunkard to her face. No one had insulted her so blatantly in her entire life. The outrage was so great, that she simply lost all semblances of integrity and shoots herself at Alice.

"You bloody, shameless lowly tail" she screamed while ramming at Alice, putting her old, feeble and slimy fingers around her neck.

Alice was so surprised and caught off guard by Pris sudden aggression. She stumbled and fell backwards dragging witless with her. Both women ended up struggling in the ground.

Fred was overly speechless by the sudden change in the situation. The old Lady Priscilla witless had stopped him and his partner while on patrol and had asked them for an interview with them back in her house. She had said that she was in need of contacting a law enforcement agent. All indicated that she had some information that wanted to divulge to them. It was not an odd thing for policemen to be approached by citizens demanding private meetings with them. Anonymous calls and declarations were well known to be part of the job from time to time. It was one way for concerned citizens to help in the upholding of the law.

Fred; believing that granting this old woman wishes would not be a particularly difficult thing to do, had agreed to her petition. He told his partner to guard and wait for him at the front of the building main entrance. The old woman had lead him to the roof of her house, telling him that she need it to check on her coops first before carrying on with her confession.

It all seemed as a common blow of information by a concerned citizen; until suddenly Alice Liddell that troubled young missy at the Houndsditch home appeared; flustered and throwing insults at the old lady. It was complete unexpected how the old woman responded to the insults with such viciousness.

Fred tried unsuccessfully to separate both women from their struggle. They were rolling and warring each other on the ground. It was quite difficult to get a hold on any of them. Finally he had managed to grab young Alice and restrain her somewhat from behind.

Problem was; Mrs. witless took advantage of that and tossed some cheap shots at the girl, she even tried to suffocate with her bare hands. Alice of course was not going to stand idle. She kicked at witless repeatedly in the gut in an effort to push her away, while at the same time struggling with Fred's grip on her, who found it most difficult to maintain it. Who would have thought that such a petite thing could posses so much strength?

With one hard and well administered kick. Alice sank her boot in the middle of witless ugly face, breaking her enormous and deformed nose in the process. The old hag was sent sprawling over a bunch of birdcages that were arranged at end of the rooftop. She slammed hard on them and the fragile coots groaned in protest.

Fred managed to finally subdue Alice who had stopped her struggle, now that she didn't had Pris on top her. Unable to oppose against the strength of the larger man; She eventually calmed down knowing it would be fruitless to continuing resisting. When Fred saw that the young woman had finally settled down, he let her go in order to check on Mrs. Witless. Unfortunately the precarious stability of the birdcages did not held long enough for him to reach her. As Mrs. witless was leaning in the coots trying to rise back on her feet; the fragile cages lost their balance and fell from the roof. Pris found herself caught in the sudden motion and tripped over to the other side and down to the streets she went. A frantic scream and a thud were the last sounds that were heard from her.

Both Fred and Alice merely stood there unbelieving of what had just transpired. They both run to the edge and looked down the other side. They saw the mangled and broken form of Priscilla Witless positioned in an unnatural way, layed alongside several trampled and bended birdcages on the cobblestone.

Fred's partner had run toward the body immediately after he heard the crash. Surprised to see that Mrs. witless had fallen from the roof, not wasting time he did a quick check of her vital signs. Finding none, he shook his head in resignation. Looking at the roof he caught sight of Alice peering from the roof and of his partner Fred a few paces away from her. The cop decided to address his partner with a shout.

"She's gone. There's nothing else that can be done fo' her. What happened?"

Slowly still a little shocked from the ordeal Fred removed his sight from the body of Mrs. Witless and looked at Alice intently. Realizing she was being observed Alice returned his stare knowing that this was going to fall on her. Realization dawned on Fred's partner down on street and his demeanor turned brisk and stern.

"Ye' be wearing the broad arrow for this, missy" he said.

Alice wasted no time and set herself in motion. She quickly crossed the length of the roof into the back of the building and jumped into the ceiling of a nearby edifice. The cop down on the street was already shouting his commandment.

"STOP! In the name of her majesty; I order you to cease and desist!" pulling a long whistle from his pocket. The policeman made a very long and loud whistling sound that would call the attention of any nearby law enforcement officer, prompting them to close on the location.

Fred tried to reason with her. He hadn't started to give her chase yet, having not much desire of do so since he was sympathetic of her. He shouted at her still from witless's roof.

"Alice please! Don't do this girl, don't run. We can find a way to solve this if you turn yourself. Please don't make me chase after you"

Alice stopped in her tracks. Taking note of the concern in the officer voice; she regretfully turned and addressed the cop hesitantly.

"I'm sorry officer, but I'm afraid that will not do. I'm guilty; I kill her. You've saw me doing it. There is no longer a choice for me; I am doomed anyway. Even if I managed to avoid the gaol; there is no way I will not to be sent back to Rutledge. I'm not going back into that awful place"

"Please girl, don't!" Fred insisted "this will not look good on you. Where you'll be going? What would you do?" That seemed to give Alice a pause in her thought.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I will find a way as always, that's what I do. I'll survive somehow. All I know is; I'm not going back into the asylum. Anywhere else is a best choice just because is not there" with that Alice resumed her sprint in hopes of escaping from the police.

The policeman Fred was still indecisive. He had encountered Alice several times in the past. He knew she was a good girl. There was even a small amount of respect toward her because of the way she stood against the trash of society like Jack splatter; Fearless and without flinching. In the end he could only sigh deeply.

"Oh Alice! Everything has gone down the gutter".

Alice ran without looking back. Shad to keep moving, she had to lose the police. She could hear their frantic shouts and commandments coming from every direction. If she looked down to the street, she could see cops giving her chase from below. She jumped to another building and changed direction but still, she could see other officers coming from opposite streets to intercept her.

No manner at how many buildings she jumped or where she turned; there were always cops at the ready tracking her down. The evening was full with the loud sounds of the policemen whistles. More cops were arriving by the second and even some had managed to reach the rooftops and were giving chase, hot on her trail. There had to be a way to lose them before she get cornered? She was getting out of options very quickly.

She wasn't particularly seeing exactly where she was going. Roofs and chimneys simply passed in front of her vision without being acknowledged. Stopping was not an option, so she kept running. For how long? She didn't know.

Finally she realized that she was heading in the direction of the docks. If she reached them, it will be the end of the line for her. There would be no more places were to run. She had to try to go somewhere else. But that was highly unseemly now that there were cops chasing her practically form everywhere. From the streets, between the alleys and above the roofs they came. She had to leave them behind somehow. So she simply pushed herself beyond her limits and ran faster and faster, beyond any speed that she had ever managed to achieve. Adrenaline giving her that much need it boost.

She rounded the corner of an upcoming smokestack, only for her footing to slip. Not her fault, the roof was in a poor condition and it failed to hold her weight. There was a crack and she fell through the newly formed hole. She landed not much in a comforting way. She felt pain in her behind, but there was no time for that. Groaning and against the ache and protest of her muscles; she scrambled herself away the best she could from the impromptu entrance and headed into a dark corner behind some crates, hoping not to be found.

She could hear the voices and footsteps of her pursuers. Weariness was finally starting to catch up on her and her body suddenly refused to move. She could only hope that the police did not find the hole where she had fallen into.

Luckily for her, she had managed to gain an advantage from his pursuers before falling. Managing to leave them at least one rooftop behind, the smokestack had hidden her from view when she fell and it also obstructed the sight of the depression in which she had fallen. Soon she heard the voices going restless and confused from having suddenly lost track of her. Then she heard them trashing and rummaging abpout, obviously looking for her. She dared not to move or breathe, less she tipped them of her location. Finally after a while and to her satisfaction; the footsteps started to go away from her and the voices faded at distance.

Alice stopped holding her breath and released a long tired sigh. Finally at peace she decided to asses her surroundings. It would appeared that she had fallen into some old and dusty warehouse –if the crates stockpiled in there were any indication of it- it seemed this place hasn't had much activity for a while. Dust and cobwebs covered a great deal of the place and a lot of the woodworks looked rundown and decayed. Luckily for her the wood of the upper platform in which she had fallen looked fairly stable, otherwise her fall would had been more rowdy and may even had seriously injured her.

She was tired and it was late already. Night had already fallen outside. Moonlight was filtering from the hole in the roof and through some crevices in the stained windows. Maybe she could rest here for a little while until she recovered her strength.

In her musings, Alice didn't realized when the long smile appeared in front of her. Pulling her out of her thoughts; even in darkness the features of the Chesire cat were easily recognizable.

"I must say, this is a prime example for when things don't go according to plan" That was the last thing Alice heard before blackness overtook her.

**Note:** well there you have it the beginning of this story; I will start to introduce characters from mass effect in the next chap. I realize that if I wanted to fusion both universes I should treat Alice wonderland like one of the soft places in Neil Gaiman's Sandman. That way people from different times and places can meet each other, maybe even travel through time. The brief description of a soft place is a place where the boundary between reality and dreaming are not so clear as in most places. Since Alice wonderland seems to fit the description after the end of madness returns. I believe it is feasible to follow that trend of work. Although I'm not sure if I should make cameos of the endless, I don't think I could develop their characters pretty well. But we'll see.

Also I don't know how I should proceed. I've been writing this story since June, so I already have the next chapter ready. But I need to pass it on the computer, and it takes me a week or two to make the transition. I have a very tight schedule after all. It is easy for me to going around carrying a notebook and writing down my ideas every time I have an inspiration; but not so easy to pass it all in a row to the computer. So should I keep writing my ideas and only start to make the transcript at the end of the month or I start making the transcript now. But you will have to wait for me to write the subsequent chapter and make its respective transcription, that could take a while.

It does not matter. I will still be working in this story nevertheless. I would have to focus in this story for now, had to pause my other works since i can only put my attention in one project at a time. Don't know when I will retake them. Maybe after and when I advance in this story long enough.

At any rate, fare well and don't forget to review.

**PS:** I have Re-uploaded this chapter to asses some minor misspelling i hadn't spotted when i uploded it the first time. by the way the idea of Pris dying and Alice getting chased by the police through the rooftops; I took it from the beta of madness returns.


	2. New faces around Wonderland

**Author's Note: **Well here it is the second chap, it is finished already because I had to cut my advances in several parts. I realized that with all I have written thus far, I would not be able to put it in just one chapter. So I had to separated in several, it would seem I have enough material to upload almost 4 chapters. Nice isn't it.

By the way I've already made up my mind; the endless will appear in this story. Not as main characters of course, but they will make appearances and have a word or two with Alice and Shepard and even some other members of his crew. Had to come up with the idea of an entire new back-story just for them; nothing that will take too long. Just something that allows me to integrate them in the story without trouble and give a reason for their appearance. It also allows me to make cameos of other entities. Oh! so much ideas, so much work ahead of me.

I've spent the entire past week writing the new scene that will feature Dream in this story, I already have the draft. Still, I have to do some corrections and check the grammar and stuff. But my direction is clear. Anyway let's go on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, all intellectual property belongs to EA and Bioware has the copyrights of Mass Effect.

**Madness Effect**

**Chapter 1: New faces around wonderland**

Subject Zero was having a very strange dream. What the fuck? Was not enough to describe her uncertainty; it was not normal for her to dream while being in isolated containment –a.k.a, getting her ass frozen stiff- certainly being roughly tied in a restraining bed and tossed inside a cryogenic machine to forcefully put her to sleep, was not a recipe for sweet dreams. Purgatory was by far not a resort place.

Despite all that, Subject Zero could not help but fell an inkling of pride swelling inside of her. Knowing that not even the infamous prison ship, legendary for its gruesomeness, its savagery -from both inmates and guards- and its highly extreme security was not enough to stand against her sheer brutality; hence the need to put her to sleep against her will. Oh yes, she was the most bad-ass bitch in the entire universe; at least that was Jack thought about herself. It was enough to make her smile.

Still… She never expected to have this kind of dream, well? Never. All this colors and _prettiness_, and other weird things; It was enough to make her sick. Now that she thought about, it is indeed really weird for her to be here in the first place since all she could remember since she put into an unwilling coma has been nothing but dull, boring and endless blackness. No sights, no lights, no sounds, no anything; Just the unchanging darkness of the void.

And now suddenly she is starting to have dreams? This being by far the most bizarre she has ever had. She suspected those bastards blue suns had put some strange drug in her bloodstream as sedative when they had moved her.

But that wasn't what was pissing her off. No, what was pissing her of was the fact that if this was her dream; then why in the hell she is dreaming about big fucking gigantic and freaking bright colorful FLOWERS? And that was not the only thing wrong in this place.

Not only her surroundings were to colorful for her comfort. But there were also the most unlikely things floating in the sky: Teapots and other silverware, domino chips, even great chunks of earth the size of a mountain with all and trees included, and… Was that a giant snail floating upside down?

She had found other people here, not that they proved to be of much help either. Some were your average everyday people, others looked battle-hardened soldiers, and some even looked exactly like some of those historical figures she had seen in the vids sometimes. Which, now that she thought about it many of these people looked as if they had come from different time periods.

Some even carried weapons akin to the era they looked of having come from. Swords –who uses a fucking sword nowadays- bows, spears, ancient pistols, muskets, assault rifles and other automatic weapons form before the discovery of element zero. Goddamn! It made her feel as if she was in some kind of museum display. She could see that they were not faring better than her, all of them with the same look of confusion and unfamiliarity when looking at their surroundings.

It would seem that talking to any of them will be of no help, not that she would get close to any of them even if it did. Some looked deranged and obviously crazy. Just like some inmates in purgatory; she knows pretty well how to identify the looneys.

Jack leaved all of those freaks – as she had dubbed them- behind. Knowing that there was nothing she would gain from them. She would have to find her own way out of this place alone, as always.

She walked for the best part of an hour, trying to find an exit from the strange forest. The place freaked her out with its strange creatures and unbelievable sights. There were fireflies with a body made of pudding, with leafs as wings and smoking heads and flies that looked nothing more than just flying bolts with wings; too weird.

Eventually, Jack realized that she was not getting anywhere and that she had got lost. Frustrated, she tried to release a violent outburst of biotic energy into a nearby tree only to discover that she could not use her biotics.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" She shouted.

She tried again to use her powers and again and again and again, until finally giving up due to the uselessness of all of it. Her own dream and she can't even use her powers; she couldn't believe it. How fucked up her imagination was?

Releasing a tired sigh -odd that she could feel weariness in a dream- Jack heard some voices arguing somewhere nearby. Not having anything else better to do, she decided to look for the source of all that ruckus.

Meanwhile; not too far from there. Alice was not pleased in the slightest for the inconvenience of returning to wonderland at such unsuitable time and she was letting it known to Cheshire.

"Why did you bring me back to wonderland, cat? This is hardly the most appropriate moment for me to visit. Especially when I'm in such terrible danger of being captured" she said in a demanding tone.

Back with Jack, she was able to listen some of the ranting. She discerned some words despite the distance, wonderland among them. She didn't know why but that name sounded familiar to her. If only she could remember where had she heard it?

Before she could continue in that trend of thought another voice was heard certainly answering to the first one. This new voice was cultivated and had a soothing tone, but it had a ring to it that gave her suspicions.

"You were not in the best conditions to continue with your escape Alice; I doubt that your legs had the strength to carry you further. Awake or in wonderland would not change that fact. Rest seemed a practical choice; besides, didn't you manage to elude all of those blue bottles? It would be prudent to wait for them to give on their efforts"

"But what if they find me?" asked back Alice with urgency "I will not be able to resist them should they discover my sleeping figure while I'm here listening to your cryptic nonsense"

Cheshire was unfazed however and waited for the girl to finish venting her frustration "There _might _be a slight chance for that occurrence to happen. Only possible if they are very thorough with their search. I doubt those coppers posses the drive to carry on such task. Shadows and darkness are resulting your greatest allies right now Alice, they will not make it easy for you to be found. Unless of course, you do something to draw their attention... you don't snore do you?"

"It is hardly polite to ask such things to a lady!" sputtered the girl very flustered at the cat's impertinence"But... fine, I suppose there's nothing I could do right now to correct the situation" she relented "Say cat, do you know why there is suddenly a lot of new faces around here? I stumbled with many people I was unfamiliar with when I arrived. I don't remember dreaming about them before and I doubt they are some hallucination of mine. Some of them look to- _normal_ to be inhabitants of my wonderland"

"That is because they are not delusions of yours" Cheshire brought a claw into his smiling mouth in thought before adding "I guess some of them could? In any case the point of the matter is, it is not your imagination creating new characters rather it's you who is attracting new characters inside your imagination"

Alice crossed her arms in irritation "What is that supposed to mean? Speak clearly cat"

"Remember Alice" said the cat starting to get tired of the young woman's attitude "You can draw others inside wonderland to share with them your dreams. You late sister knew about us, same for those children you are so fond of at the orphanage. Lately i'm afraid you've not been much mindful in the application of your talents. Sometimes unexpected visitors tend to filter inside your head"

"You mean; I've been dragging others inside my wonderland? But how?" she questioned in disbelief "I have always been in control of who comes inside with me" her eyes flickered at many directions while her mind tried to cope with this new information, her jaw tensed "will this bring trouble? Wonderland is still weak from the dollmaker's infection. I don't think I like much the idea of having strange people wreaking havoc inside my head"

"Yes..." answered the cat nonchalantly "Sadly, you've been, indeed, dragging others inside here with us. Wether without your knowledge or their consent. But could you truly not have predicted the ocurrence of such an issue? Your _power _-for a lack of a better term- has being increasing significantly since your confrontation with Bumby. The creation of Londerland should have been an obvious testimony of that. You my dear girl were able to break the barrier between your world and wonderland and managed to make a blend of both. That should not have been possible, yet you did it. Utterly Amazing!" he exclaimed jovially. "Not surprising then that you find yourself unable to control the new increment of your abilities. As for the matter of having others meddling with your head; I wouldn't worry much if I were you. Wonderland is your creation, not theirs. Unlike your previous experiences with the doctor; this time however, it is you who is in charge of the situation. They in fact are just visitors; unable of changing or influencing over what you have created in here. Although the other way around may not be entirely true"

"You're saying wonderland could change them?" the girl inquired.

"Indeed, that is a high possibility." Replied the cat with a shrug "As you know, wonderland is like no other place. It has its own beauty and dangers that are not found anywhere else. If these _unexpected_ visitors wander into places they are not supposed to; I doubt they would be able to leave unscathed. That is of course (chuckles) if they can even leave at all"

Alice was alarmed by that revelation, it had never been her intention for this to happen "That's not good cat! I don't want people getting hurt because of me, intentionally or not. I've never wanted for my wonderland to bring harm unto innocent people"

Cheshire laughed at the word innocent, Alice who didn't understand what was so funny, glared at him "Now that is an interesting label, innocent. Pray tell me" The cat said mockingly "How do you know that all who have entered in here are absolved of sin? Have you even looked at them? A few of them seem as perverted as the late doctor Bumby. Like that fellow with his body filled with tally marks, it looked as if he had carved them into his flesh himself. With the way he behaves I can only suspect what the significance of those marks entails. None of them much pleasant in any respect, i'm afraid"

"I... I know who you mean. I stumbled with him on my way here. He gave me a bad feeling the moment I lay eyes on him and I was correct in my suspicions. He tried to attack me with not so much as a greeting, can you believe the nerve for such rudeness. I had to send him flying away with my hobby horse" Alice huffed indignated.

"So you see? Good! I think we would be doing society a favor -Not that it would deserve it- if some of them were to suffer a little mishap while traversing through our lands. I doubt they would be missed"

"I don't care cat, it's not correct. I cannot go around bringing judgment down on people. I'm not the Red Queen"

The cat tilted his head in confusion, so much it almost seemed as if his head was upside down "But Alice? You **ARE** the Red Queen. Remember, you became the bearer of her position when you overthrew her and lay waste to her kingdom"

Alice rolled her eyes and facepalmed in irritation "I know that cat, is just... ugh. That's not what I meant. I mean- I may be the new red queen, but I'm not in anything like my predecessor. I don't have a penchant for torturing people unlike her who would certainly not miss the opportunity to make some heads roll, you know how she is"

"Yes..." Cheshire deadpanned " Sadly, I know".

"At any rate, I would not wish to impose over the life of others. Besides not all of them look like criminals many have very unique looks, they look quite exotic. Like that clown, you know? the one with green hair and red lips. Dressed in a purple suit. Had a smile that rivaled yours. He spoke to me, he was polite enough and told me many curious things. I kind off liked him" Alice said bringing a finger to her chin in thought.

"Why! Yes, you are correct Alice, many look quite the bunch of lively fellows. They would indeed fit perfectly in this place".

Finally, Jack had managed to find the owners of the voices, only to be stunned by their appearances. One was a young woman barely out of her teens, with dark -almost raven- brown hair and green eyes. She wore a blue dress with an apron and a necklace with the symbol of Omega and a key were hanging from her neck. Not much of an impression there.

But the other? It was a goddamn giant cat with a big fucking head and... It spoke? She didn't feel much comfortable by his looks either. He was thin and lanky, extremely so. She could see his bones through hanging pelt. He had a manic grin, too physically impossible in length; fill with long yellow sharp teeth. For some reason the corner of his mouth had a crimson substance in it; she didn't wanted to know what that substance was, not if it was what she suspected. His body was covered in strange tribal tattoos -well she could appreciate those, being as how she was fond of tattoos herself- He had a long hoop ring in one of his ears and 2 brilliant golden eyes with a wicked shine to them.

It would seem that these 2 were not aware of her presence; but Jack being as conspicuous as she is -not to mention the fact that she was mildly nervous- couldn't helpe but scream.

"THE FUCK'S GOING ON HERE?"

Alice was caught of balance by the sudden intrusion. Looking at the source of it, she could not avoid from feeling stunned by the newcomer appearance. It was a woman, at least she thought -more like hoped- she was one. The lack of hair made that difficult to tell. She was completely bald, not one single hair arise form her scalp. Her body was totally covered in tattoos -it's not like that was something new to her; Cheshire had tattoos too. But this woman took the cake- She had a very dark and strong make-up that gave her an intimidating look and... Had she no shame? She was strutting around without a shirt; only a strap of cloth covered her privates. Alice felt herself blush.

"Eeek!" She squealed "Dear Lord! Whoever you are _**please **_have the modesty to cover yourself. Don't you have any decency?" she said while turning around covering her eyes.

The bald woman however, cared not for her discomfort.

"Whatever Princess! Look I need to know where the hell am I? And it looks to me that you may posses the answers that I seek. So how about your answer my questions and I don't have to beat the crap out of you?"

Alice forgot for a moment her discomfort for the woman's nakedness. Instead she now found herself shocked at the newcomer's blunt and rude mannerisms. Looking at cat, it seemed as if he was as confused like her. Thought that did little to diminish his grin, in fact it looked as if he was enjoying this new development.

"What kind of introduction is that? Is that the way you normally greet at people? Even more important; Why are you wearing no clothes at all? Cat! Is this another one of those visitors you've mentioned?"

Cheshire assessed the newcomer intently and when he spoke it leaved Jack incredulous "She could certainly be it; although this one I had not seen before. She might as well seem at home here in wonderland due to the _uniqueness _of her appearance. Maybe she's a new invention of your mind Alice"

"What? Inconceivable!" Alice rebuked "I would never imagine someone in such state of undress. Unlike her, I known the meaning of the word decency"

-Great! - Jack thought -a prude- Jack hated prudes. She didn't want to deal with this right now; but she desperately needed some answers. So she had to suck it up much to her dismay.

"Look princess! I don't give a damn what you think. I just want you to tell me; What in the name of a fucking god is this place?"

Alice was left Aghast with her mouth hanging open. She had never heard someone speak in such a foul and dirty manner before. Cat on the other hand seemed to like the newcomer attitude; he chuckled in amusement.

Jack by simply looking at Alice, knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere. Normally she would have been pissed by now and started rushing on the warpath already; but without her biotics that didn't look like a viable option. Not that she needed her biotics to deal with a teenager. But that cat gave her a bad feeling and she wasn't stupid to try to test his reactions. Seeing that her current trend of inquiry wasn't working, she decided to change her approach.

Sighing deeply she spoke again "Listen missie! I'm lost without knowing where I am. I don't know who you are? And I certainly don't know why the hell the cat is speaking. So I would appreciate if you would not dwell in the way I dress and lend me a hand." by now she had difficulty to keep her temper in check, speaking through gritting teeth "Is that agreeable for you, Princess?"

Alice was still weary of the newcomer, but it seemed she was in need of her help -Although her manners to ask for it were sorely lacking- Well it wasn't as if this stranger could hurt her inside her own wonderland and she did had said she didn't wanted to cause injury to those who were dragged here against their will. Making up her mind, she relaxed and took a deep breath.

"Very well" She performed a curtsey as she had been taught as the proper way when greeting people "My name is Alice Liddell, it is a pleasure to make her acquaintance"

Jack was confused by that greeting, never had she been greet in such a polite manner before. It made her feel oddly inside; her confusion was so evident on her face that made Alice feel mildly embarrassed. The biotic woman quickly recomposed herself and gave her name.

"The name's Jack" she said in a flippant tone.

Again Alice was left stunned once more and it was not because of the tattooed woman lack of manners. This newcomer was getting even more and stranger by the minute. Even cat looked as if he was unable to cope with all this awkwardness and he loved every minute of it.

"Is that not a man's name?" asked Alice after recovering for her impression.

"So?"

"**!**"

"... But? Aren't you a woman?" she pressed

"And? I liked the way it ringed so I pick it. What's the problem with that?"

"Um?... (Shrug) I guess nothing" certainly Alice had seen and imagined very strange and bizarre things in her short life. A woman who has the name of a man is a very small fish compared to that.

"So what are you doing here in wonderland- Jack?" Alice asked changing subject.

"That's the problem; I don't know why I'm here. Hell, I don't even know how I got here in the first place. Much less i know what this wonderland is. Thought the name sounds familiar to me for some reason" replied the bald woman trying hard to remember were she had heard the name before, without much success.

"...mmm..." Alice murmured in thought and looked at Cheshire "She really must be one of those travelers; isn't it? What do you think Ches?"

"Possibly, if the fact that she doesn't recognize her surroundings is proof enough. A true denizen of wonderland would not question his right to dwell in here. We have always know were our heart is, can't said the same about our heads though" the cat turned and tilted his head at Jack "I must saiy I'm curious at how do you seem to recognize the name of this location?"

Jack shrugged clueless "I dunno; I just know it for some reason. I think I heard it somewhere before"

Alice thought about it for a minute and spoke back to cat "Cat; do you think she might had stumbled with one of the children of the orphanage? Maybe he did a mention of my wonderland and she overheard it? Though I found it odd that I had not heard any mention of someone like Jack before. I'm quite sure if someone with such a _particular _way of dressing would had arrived into town it would had caused quite the stir"

"You bet you ass on it. I love to cause mayhem wherever I go" stated Jack with pride.

"Yes, I don't doubt that for a second. You do look as if you would feel particularly comfortable among chaos. Not surprising then that you're taking our oddness with such frivolity" mention the cat wiggling his tail from one side to another.

Jack shrugged unconcerned "I figure that this must be a dream of sorts. There's no way this is real. Specially since there's a whole world of difference between this place and the place were I was before waking here."

"Ah!" exclaimed Chesire in fake surprise. He tilted his head again. His eyes shone intently "Well then if that's the case Jack. Pray tell us, from what place do you hail from?" he asked.

"Purgatory"

Alice was shocked of what she heard. Purgatory, the mountain where the souls of the dead must climb in order to be cleansed of their sins and reach the earthly paradise. This new information made cat grin even more, excitement beaming from him.

"I must say Jack. That is a very interesting piece of information" he looked at Alice "My dear Alice. Clearly you must be flourishing into something truly marvelous, if you been pulling the souls of the deceased away from the terraces of penitence"

"What the hell are you talking about?" blurted Jack in annoyed confusion "What terraces of penitence? Deceased? You think I'm dead? You don't even know what I am talking about, do you?"

"Perhaps it would be best if you gave us a more elaborate description Jack. We seem to have misunderstood the place you spoke of" offered Alice in an effort to placate the violent woman.

"Yeah, no shit" she replied annoying Alice again with her foul language "Purgatory. The place I'm speaking of; is the most heavily hard-ass guarded and infamous prison ship in the entire universe with a reputation that would scare you shitless. That's the place were the worst scum of the galaxy is thrown into. That's where they keep us locked-up and away from more _civilized _worlds" explained jack making invisible quotes with her fingers at the word civilized.

"Galaxy? Worlds?" murmured Alice dumbfounded to Chesire, who only shrugged in response.

"So you say you've came form a prison ship. Does that make you a criminal?" Asked the dark haired brunette; Her suspicions of Jack flaring up again.

"I'm not just any common criminal. I'm the most crazy and dangerous bitch in the entire universe. Not even purgatory was able to handle me. That's why they frozen me"

"Frozen you?" retorted Alice not believing what she just heard. "As if encased in ice? What kind of prison does that to its inmates?"

"There's a reason as to why Purgatory is known as the most fearsome and hardcore prison in the whole galaxy. It's designed to hold the worst kind of people in tight shity little cells. Of course that having so many rapist, murderers and wackos in such close space is -obviously- going to cause trouble. But the people who run it don't care. It used to be a ship to move cattle once. Now is a madhouse were everybody is out to get you; even the guards. They are of no help at all; they're just bullies who give you shit if you dare to even look at them. They like to enter in your cell in the middle of the night and beat the crap out of you. _Interrogation _they call it, even though there's nothing they don't know already before hand. Not with all their eyes and ears everywhere watching you all the time. I was the most savage and wild inmate they had ever dealt with. I was too much for them to handle -bunch of pussies. She said under her breath- that's why they frozen me. Normally they just kill anybody who gives them too much trouble, but I'm far too much valuable to them as merchandise for them to get rid of me"

Jack's description of her particular branch of purgatory made Alice recoil in disgust. Such horrid place; it made her remember the Asylum and the last part struck her as highly irregular "Merchandise? What do you mean by that?" she inquired not liking the implications of it.

"The Blue Suns –that's the name of the sick fucks who run the place- have the tendency to sell the most notorious of the inmates to people who's willing to pay for some _alone _time with a bound and restrained criminal that cannot fight back; The fucking cowards. Normally the most famous or hated of us are the first ones to go"

"My God! You're telling me they sell people? How barbaric!" Exclaimed Alice in shock at such uncivilized practices.

"Yes the world is fucked up place, welcome to it" Jack mocked her "Anyway, yeah the blue suns have the reputation of being some goddamn slavers. I have a score to settle with them. They're idiots if they think I will simply let them sold me without a fight. The moment they open my cell to deliver me to some random asshole I will make my escape and I'll kill anything that dares stand in my way. The suns, the motherfucker who buys me and anyone else stupid enough to face me; whatever, they all will die the same"

"You don't seem much worried about the fact of killing all those people?" mentioned Alice "Not that I care about them or anything. For what I heard your captors deserve anything you may do to them. Is just, well? It seems so much effort to me of time and energy to confront them when you could focus more on planning your escape"

"Now were would be the fun in that?" questioned the bald woman "I prefer taking my enemies head on. All that thinking and planning is not my style, besides other people dying simply means that my chance of surviving increase" Jack started to drift in thought remembering the days of her childhood "That's something I learned from a young age"

"A useful lesson to remember by, certainly" mentioned Cheshire "Survival is indeed a gruesome business at most times. Keep in mind though, that not always the direct confrontation is the most effective of solutions. If you wish to crush your enemies with your hide still intact. It pays to wait for the precise moment were you can inflict maximum damage in exchange of minimal effort. It's more effective that way"

"...!... Yeah? Well, whatever then" replied Jack not really knowing how to respond to the cat. She was having enough of the conversation and she still need it her questions answered ,so she addressed back at Alice "I have enough of playing 20 questions with you two. Now tell me, what's this wonderland place you been talking about" she pointed at Cheshire "The cat said it is a dream of yours, but I don't understand how is that I got here. Not that I'm complaining; it's much better than staring at a big black expanse of nothingness. Still I'm curious, what's the deal with this place?"

"You may be right in some respects Jack" answered the cat, cackling for some reason "Wonderland is certainly a realm that resides and thrives in imagination. A dream, indeed it was at some point; many things have their conception as one. Now it is much more than it once was; Great changes transpired recently and leaved wonderland reeling at the border of collapse. With is current recovery, something significant has started to build inside of wonderland, soon to be unraveled. Beware! Jack, you may think yourself above harm by believing that all of this is no more than a dream. But I assure you, this place is quite real and we who dwell in this land can cause a bit of an impression to strangers and outsiders. Curious! Is the fact that we are even far more stranger ourselves" he mused making both women to lose the thread of the conversation

"What?" asked jack starting to have enough of all this weirdness.

"Oh! Don't mind about that, it was just an observation of mine. Regardless, do take caution my dear Jack; otherwise you may end up finding yourself a permanent residence in this place."

"What are you saying" pressed the biotic woman "Am I to become trapped here forever. Why do I have the impression of that sounding like a threat" said Jack her stance turning aggressive.

"Not a threat at all Jack. Just a piece of advice that you should mind were you stepping into."

"I don't believe you?" she barked back in defiance.

"That is hardly my fault, is it not?" countered the feline "I can't do much to give you the answers you're looking for when you take offense at the way I deliver them to you. Not always do the answers we receive are the answers we seek. Losing your temper would do little to change that fact however. It would not make the truth go away" he said in a better-than-thou tone.

Jack did not trust that cat, she was sure he knew more than what he was saying. He was dangerous, her gut was telling her. But without her biotics she could not risk a confrontation. She would make sure to get that cat later once her powers returned.

"tch.. Fine, why does this place is so dangerous then?"She said finally backing down.

"It's because wonderland is a place of Alice own creation, bound it is to her swings in mood. A reflection of her current state of mind, it represents. Happiness and joy makes of wonderland a bright and shining place; But pain and suffering turns it grim and dangerous. The balance of this land is quite the fragile thing, you see; so little effort is required to tip said balance off and plunge wonderland into an abyss of madness and despair. On the other hand it's so much of a hassle to correct the damage. Sometimes is not possible to repair it completely and echoes tend to linger behind. Only Alice is the only one that can truly restore the land, being as how she is the architect of this place after all. She can mold it in whatever way she deems fit. Only possible because they share a deep connection, interlaced they are in ways I'm not fully able to describe myself and any change inflicted in one will affect the other in turn. They are one and the same, two sides of the same coin. Alice and her wonderland" he finished chuckling to himself and stretching his smile as far as he could.

Seeing him like that made Jack to finally remember were had she heard the name wonderland before; Reckoning in shock. It was a name she hadn't heard since her childhood, before Cerberus had abducted her.

"NO FUCKING WAY" she screamed.

Alice was still not pleased at jack swearing and foul language. But she did took notice of the bald woman sudden alarm.

"What's the matter Jack? What are you so giddy about?" she asked.

"YOU..." Jack screamed pointing at Alice, who pointed at herself in confusion " Yes you... you're not supposed to be real. You're supposed to be a character from a child-book's story" she exclaimed.

"Child-book's story?" Alice was certainly caught by surprise at that answer, not knowing how to react to that she sought Cheshire help "Cat, do you know what she's talking about?"

"I'm afraid I'm as clueless as you regarding jack's sudden outburst, my dear Alice" replied Cheshire.

Jack kept prancing about in her realization

"Now I really know this can't be nothing more but a stupid dream – a very bizarre one- but a dream nevertheless. You two are fiction characters. You are Alice! A sissy little girl that one day fell into a shitty hole and ended in a weird place called wonderland where she met and played with lots of stupid characters. Like the white rabbit, the Caterpillar, the mad hatter, the Cheshire cat..."

"That is my name without a doubt, although I find the notion of being called stupid particularly uncouth" said the cat unamused.

Jack wasn't paying him attention too focused was she in her rant, that she hadn't ears for nothing else.

"...And the Queen of Hearts. Fucking shit! You people cannot be real is just not possible"

"But I am real" replied Alice with conviction "I have never doubt of my existence. I was born and grew in England, been living there for all my life; except for the ocassional trip to wonderland that is" she then motioned towards Cheshire "Cat? Well, he is real enough for me. I say you are the one who is not real; after all it is you who is inside my head.

"What! Fuck no! I'm the one who is real and this is nothing that some hallucination that I'm having becuse of an acid trip or something. Why the hell am I discussing this with you in the first place? You're a child-book's character for fuck's sake"

Cheshire was curious about that book; it sounded awfully familiar to him "You know Alice, The only book that I know of that speaks about us, is the one that old foggy Dodgson wrote. It seems it has being moving around for what I notice. I ignored the fact that you have become quite the figure my dear girl; well besides of your ocassional appereance in the local papers from time to time"

"Is it true? Is mister dodgson the author of the book" Asked Alice to Jack; ignoring Cheshire's remarks.

"Fuck! I don't know… I just know some stupid fuck wrote it? It was so long ago. I don't remember the author. Doesn't matter, I'm stuck here anyway. (sigh) well i guess i'll have to deal with it, at least this is much better than standing all by myself alone in the dark. Guess i'll be stucked with you guys" said the tattoed woman in resignation.

"you're not frazzled anymore?" inquired the british girl surprised at the quickness of jack's change of heart "weren't you just upset about of how bizarre it was to be around people you believe to be characters from a book?"

Jack shrugged not really caring anymore "Well it doesn't seem as if i have many options, isn't it princess? At least this way i can fin a way out of this fucking forest"

Alice didn't know what to think, on one hand she didn't trust Jack much, she was rude and foul-mouthed, not to mention her way of dressing leaved much to be desired (and not much to the imagination too). But on the other hand she was petitioning her for help, with not much finesse she may add. But, It was more than obvious that she was lost and confused and... Grudgegingly, Alice remembered once more how she had said that she didn't wanted to cause trouble to other people because of her wonderland. Alice knew the importance of backing her own words, it's what would difrerentiate her from hypocrites like Bumby. Besides she accepted that if there was something good that could be said about Jack that would be her honesty. Jack didn't seem to her as the lying type, she was very vocal about the way she thought or felt (sometimes way to much) but she prefered that than dealing with liars and fake people.

"Fine! I suppose you could join me in my trip; is not often that i find a partner which to explore wonderland alongside with. Cheshire comes and goes as he pleases, so he is not much of a reliable source for companionship. Although, he does answers everytime when called and stands by your side when it really matters"

"It pleases me to know that you finally recognize the importance of my aid, Alice. Having to constantly put up with your wits tends to become really tiresome after a while" said Chesire. Earning a glare from Alice before vanishing from sight completely.

"Cool! So? Where are we going?" asked the bald woman.

Cool? What a strange word to use in a moment like this. Alice decided not to bother of correcting her new companion way of speaking. She assumed it would be an exercise in futility. So she just contented with answering her question.

"Well I need to know if there is a way to deal with this issue of people appearing randomly through my wonderland. So I guess a visit to Caterpillar is in order for us, i'm certain he would know how to solve this situation. C'mon then Jack let us be off"

And so Alice took off in the search for Caterpillar with a new companion in tow.

Commander John Shepard took cover the best he could at the entrance to a hallway. Bullets bounced from the edge closed to him. Grabbing his M-96 Mattock tightly, he emerged from his cover and took aim. Quickly without hesitation, he gunned down 2 blue suns mercenaries that were reloading their own weapons. His bullets depleting their Kinetic Barriers and punching through their armor.

He managed to take out the shields of a 3rd mercenary before running out of ammo himself; that same mercenary was sent flying into a wall before he had a chance to shoot at Shepard thanks to a biotic attack made by operative Lawson.

Another mercenary apperead at the end of the hallway but before he could raise his own rifle, he was quickly dispatched by a shot to the head from Garrus M-92 sniper rifle.

Shepard and his team had arrived inside the infamous prision ship, Purgatory in order to pick up the convict known as subject zero. Whose release was previously bought by Cerberus so he could recruit said prisioner for his mission against the collectors. Unfortunately they hadn't counted on Warden Kuril's greed, who betrayed Shepard and his team and was now trying to capture them to sell them into slavery; saying how he could make a good profit from their hides.

Obviously, Shepard would not let that happen. He and his team were forced to run throught the narrow hallways and corridors of the prision ship. Fighting wave after wave of blue suns mercenaries and Fenris mechs at each step of the way.

"Garrus prepare to give us covering fire. Miranda get ready to breach that door"

Taking position at the sides of the airlock to the next section of the ship, The Commander and Miranda were about to open it withGarrus at the back keeping an eye for any trouble through the scope of his rifle.

The former Spectre pushed the button and the airlock opened with a hiss. Blue suns were already waiting at the other side and were greeted by Garrus putting a bullet through the helmet lens of one of the mercenaries, forcing the rest to take cover.

A Fenris mech rushed at the Normandy's ground team but Miranda stop it cold with an overload and used her M-4 Shuriken to put the mech out of comission.

The commander being pumped by a rush of adrenaline assulted, all in his own a group of mercenaries taking cover behind some desks and terminals. Feeling as if the world was moving in slow motion, he immediately killed 3 mercenaries in a row. He kept moving fowards, his kinetic barriers dwingling under the constant fire. The clip of his rifle had runned out again, so he used the butt of his weapon instead to beat the lights out of the 4th and last merc and took their former cover as his own.

More mercenaries bursted into the room and engaged the ground team but even with these new reinforcements, the blue suns were unable to change the tide of the battle. Only able to delay the inevitable.

Garrus sniping made quick work of anyone who dared peek out of their cover or stupid enough to not be behind one. Miranda's biotics wreaked havoc among their lines, sometimes even forcing them out of cover and making them easy targets for the ground team. And finally with Shepard's leadership and fighting skills they were able to push the enemies back in retreat.

"We don't have much time! We must reach Jack before the blue suns seal the station" Shouted Miranda over the cacophony of battle.

"C'mon people! Keep pushing foward. The blue suns will **not **beat us to the punch" exclaimed the commander with certainty.

With that said the Normandy's ground team continued to engage the blue suns in a desperate effort to reach subject zero.

**Note: **there you have it chapter 2, now to work on the transcript of chapter 3. Why does it take me so long to make the transcripts? I mean i've been cheking my time and it takes almost an hour to pass just one page to the computer. Well it's just drafts after all. I have to check no spelling errors and make sure that the compositions of the sentences are good. I mean i have to make sure that the dialogs sound as something that the characters would say, otherwise it just doesn't work. But still i feel it takes to long and i get desperate, it's gonna take me months before i will be able to completely post what i consider the first part of this story. Whatever then.

Changing the subject, Deus Ex Human Evolution is finally to be released next Tuesday. I'm so going to buy that game. Already have ordered for my pre-order. All i have to do is pick it up the day of the realease. Just 2 more days.

Well, read ya' next chapter and don't forget to feed the review monster if you want for this story to continue. Goodbye for now.

Made another re-upload of this chapter. Wasn't quite satissfied with the way some dialogs were. Cheshire is such a complex character and his way of speaking is particularly unique. Hope you like it this way. If Shepard seemed a little overpowered, well don't tell me you've not done something like that while playing Mass Effect 2. i Know i did it, maybe not so much in higher difficulties but still... the insane difficulty is certanly non-canon and sometimes i get lazy when writting this action scenes. I mean we all know that Shepard is gonna beat the crap out of any merc. Is hard to write this kind of scenes sometimes, anyway I'll try if i can improve them.


	3. In dreams I walk with you

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Mass Effect and American McGee's Alice belong to their respective owners.

**Chapter 2: In Dreams I walk with you.**

"Tell me then; why in blazes you still call him Caterpillar when he's now a butterfly?" asked Jack to her new companion. She and Alice had been walking through the woods for several minutes now. Unable to endure the awkward silence anymore she decided to start questioning the British girl about their objective; eventually addressing the topic of Caterpillar's name.

"Well… I'm not sure really" Said Alice tentatively "I ignore if the inhabitants of my wonderland can change name as well as body. Although that will be the logical thing to happen, but as you can see this place doesn't have much of a pang for logic" Alice scratched her head pondering what to say "Although Caterpillar has not been the first one to change. Others have changed before him, like Hatter; he's now more machine than man, more bolts and Iron instead of flesh and blood he now has. But that doesn't make his name to change as well. I too have changed a lot over the years, just a little bit crazier with each passing season and my name still remains the same. I'm not the same person I was before coming here or even before I meet you, I'll say. I remember feeling slight different in the morning and I felt different when I arrived and saw all this new people inside my wonderland or when I spoke to you the first time or…"

"Ok, ok. Stop already! You're giving me a fucking headache" Demanded Jack unable to follow Alice's reasoning "Give me the short version will ya?"

"Oh? Sorry, I tend to get too carried away sometimes (giggles) what was I saying, anyway? I knew I had a point to make? – Ah yes! Change in us is a constant but that doesn't make us being something else entirely from what we are. So no… I guess Caterpillar can't change his name"

"You guess?" Jack questioned rising an eyebrow "where you not supposed to be the one who made all of this –she gestured to their surroundings– inside your head? How could you not know what's happening in here?"

"It's really hard for me to know what transpires inside my wonderland" replied Alice scratching her head "Never been quite sure myself. The land shifts and changes constantly. Every trip that I've made has proven different than the one before. I'm always discovering new things every time I come here. The truth is…" Alice fidgeted a little, mildly embarrassed of her confession "I really don't know how is that I managed to create wonderland in the first place. I was just a little girl back then, content with my childhood games and mischief or tea parties with my sister. My parents were good people; they tried to give me the upbringing than any respectable and proper lady should had and Nan Sharpe took good care of me and instructed me in the forms of music. Although I must confess that my proficiency was less than average in several of those forms" She cringed a little when she remembered her violin lessons.

Alice suddenly lost herself in remembrance, right in the middle of her explanation. Jack was not content when she saw her far away expression. It was a merry and lively one, so it was easy for her to spot the sadness that crept afterward into Alice's features. The memory of her childhood days, although precious will eventually make her feel all sorrowful and angst if she delved too much upon them; reminding herself of what had been taken away from her. Jack took notice of it; it didn't cost her much to figure out that something bad had happened to her. Life sucks, that she knows too well.

Alice tried to dismiss her grievances with a fake smile. It didn't fooled jack at all. "Oh! Sorry for fading out like that; how rude from me, I hope you can forgive me. In any case; One day wonderland was simply there. Popped out of nowhere and dragged me into the adventure of my life, full of marvelous and strange sights. It was quite the grandiose experience I must say. But if I had to guess, I'll say that wonderland was created due to my wild imagination; a children mind has the tendency to wander into the most unusual of places after all. But I also believe that my desire for exploration and adventures had something to do with it. I remembered that I used to imagine that I was an explorer; wandering the world intending to discover all its marvels and secrets, visiting exotic places in the process and befriending kings and rulers of faraway lands" Alice said with a dreamy look on her face, before pulling herself out of her reverie at seeing how Jack was giving her an awkward look. She blushed a little when she realized that she was exposing her inmost childhood fantasies to the tattooed woman.

"Ahem…" she coughed a little to change subject "Anyway; whatever the case may be, as I said earlier. I simply don't know how it happened, it just did. Never knew it really; after all, how can you know the way that dreams and fantasies are born?"

"That was a bunch of useless information what you just gave me" Jack deadpanned "I didn't ask for the history of your life, you know?" she complained.

"Forgive me for trying to have a civilized conversation, then" Replied Alice brusquely, insulted at the other woman's attitude "I'll make sure to remember to remain silent next time you raise a question; I'm sure Ches will be more than amenable to respond to all of your future inquiries"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry okay" said Jack raising her hands in an apologetic gesture "it was not my intention to insult your _precious feelings_, princess–This last words she said in a mock tone– So calm down, take a Chill Pill will ya?"

That last phrase made Alice to stop in thought "What is this _Chill Pill _you mention?" she asked "I've sampled many strange sweets through all my travels in wonderland and in any of them have I heard of such delicacy before. How does it look? What does it taste? Do I get chills if I eat them as the name implies?"

Jack simply stared at Alice; Hard, for the best part of a minute. Her brain simply going numb at the sheer stupidity of the question; it took her great effort to come up with an answer for that."NOooooooo, Hell no. I simply… Please, just… just let me think"

...

…

…

"Shit! How do I explain this to you?... what I just said was an expression ok? what I meant by it, is that you should calm down AND take it easy"

"Then? The Chill Pills does not exist?" Alice asked visibly disappointed, she had her interested piqued by the name after all.

"No, I mean yes, yes they do exist. We just don't call them Chill Pills that often, it's just a nickname that people gave them to use it in slang; you understand?"

Alice nodded in confirmation "So if it just a nickname, then what is the Chill Pills real name?" she asked.

"That depends of the company that's manufacturing them" mentioned Jack; it only made Alice's confusion to increase "Look I'll try explain it in another way" she said "The pills are medicine ok? They're these little pills that when you take them it makes you calmer and settles your nerves. That's what they do, calm people down; Chill their tempers hence the name Chill Pills. Many pharmaceutical companies make them and give them their own distinctive name to differentiate them from the ones made by their competitors, alright?"

"Ah! I understand now" responded Alice beaming a smile and chuckling to herself "Such a silly thing the way that the people you came from has for naming things, maybe that's why Caterpillar hasn't change his" she mentioned.

"I still don't understand well the issue with Caterpillar's name" groaned the bald woman.

"Then maybe I will be more successful in describing it to you" Said Cheshire materializing behind her.

"JESUS!" Exclaimed a frantic Jack "Fuck! Don't sneak upon me in that way ever again, you cocksucker or I will wipe that smile out of your face" she threatened.

Cheshire blinked not understanding. Neither he nor Alice could comprehend why did she had suggested that Cheshire sucked on cocks; it didn't seem a very appetizing way to grab a meal.

"My apologies if my sudden intrusion startled you Jack" said the cat not sounding sincere at all "Most curious the way you address me, though. I must say I don't have the tendency of preying on cocks; I prefer hens, they are a much better appetizer. Their flesh is tender too and they don't have tendency of fight back with talons and beak. Although you must be ready for a sprightly chase when trying to catch a hen; but that's seldom an issue, not with the way that hens can easily be tricked"

During all his charade Jack was facepalming in hopelessness, she made a mental note about refraining herself from using slang words around these two "Just forget it" she pleaded "Just tell me what you know about Caterpillar, ok?"

"If you insist" the cat said "Despite Caterpillar new looks, it has done little to change his appearance. True! He may now possess wings of quite the exquisite fashion. But he still is the same wobbly maggot he's always been; all nasty habits included. But if you too share the same relish that he has for inhaling toxic fumes, then you should have nothing to complaint about. If you want to know more about it, you should ask Alice. She seems to have developed a recent taste for the pipe"

Alice was appalled at the cat for blurting out her slips "I had no choice, Cheshire!" she berated "I had to smoke from those nasty pipes if I wanted to clear the obstacles that were lying in my path. Only Caterpillar would have came up with the idea of using smoking pipes instead of buttons and levers; despite the fact that it doesn't seem the most effective way to implement a control mechanism. I'll tell you I did not enjoy the fact of performing such questionable act"

"Be as it may" reply the feline dismissing her excuses "The point of the matter is; Caterpillar remains mostly the same. Hence, despite his new found ability to fly; it is not enough a reason for changing the way that people has to address him"

"So, you're saying that Caterpillar is still the same, only now with wings but that's not enough to change his name?" surmised the convict "Why the fuck didn't you just simply said that instead of babbling a bunch of fancy words that makes it hard for me to follow what you're saying?"

"That's cat to you" answered Alice "He is only a help if you manage to discern something out of the many things he likes to prattle about"

"Ugh… Whatever! Let's just keep going, ok!" Implored the biotic woman, wishing to end the conversation.

* * *

><p>More minutes passed and the odd little group was still nowhere near an exit from the forest, instead they stumbled with that looked like a little girl playing all alone among the trees.<p>

_Sitting in the garden, in her cloak and hat,  
>I saw Mother Tabbyskins, the real old cat,<br>Very old, very old, crumplety and lame,  
>teaching kittens how to scold, is it not a shame?<em>

_Kittens in the garden, looking in her face, learning how to spit and swear,  
>oh, what a disgrace.<br>Very wrong, very wrong, very wrong and bad.  
>Such a subject for our song makes us all too sad.<br>Old Mother Tabbyskins, sticking out her head, gave a howl  
>and then a yowl, hobbled off to bed.<br>Very sick, very sick, very savage, too. _(Chuckles)

They heard the girl singing. Voice laced with the innocence of childhood, echoing through the forest. Suffice to say that it struck them as odd to find her there.

"Why there is a child playing by herself in the middle of these woods? It hardly seems as an appropriate place for a child to be on its own." Asked Alice furrowing her brow.

"Who cares?" Replied Jack unconcerned "She better don't get in our way. I'm not in the mood for dealing with this kind of shit right now" she said grumpily.

Cheshire realized that it was up to him to give a constructive opinion and so spoke in turn "Most likely; she is another visitor to your wonderland Alice, same as Jack. You know how children often marvel at the extravagance of this place; you've brought your fair share of them here after all. She doesn't seem to be in any kind of difficulty for what I see; best to leave her be for now"

"We can't just simply leave this child on her own!" protested Alice

"Why not?" questioned Jack "All we have to do is keep moving our feet without looking back"

"My wonderland is still not completely safe; they are still things that require to being fully restored and others that don't take kindly to visitors. If this child runs around my wonderland without supervision she could get hurt" replied the dark–haired brunette in anxiety.

"This is me not caring" said the bald woman pointing at her face.

Their bickering caught the little girl attention; who appeared right in front of them, out of the trees looking for the source of the quarrel.

"Oh? Hello?" said the child. Now that she was standing in the open, looking at them; Alice could take notice of the girl's features. She had a bright orange hair with stripes of many different colors -Green, Blue, Pink and Yellow- adorning the sides of her head. The disheveled way in which her hair was gave to the girl a wild look. She looked fairly young; possibly in her early teens, she didn't seem to be a day older than thirteen. She wore clothes that looked pretty obvious of not being of her size, seeing as how loosely they fitted her; Alice noticed that some of her vestments were men clothes. The brown jacket she was wearing seemed a little worn and ruddy; too broad on the shoulders and too long in the sleeves. It awfully mismatched with her dress too; a white gown that was torn and ripped in some places -particularly in the stockings area- it looked as if the poor garment was unable to bear the toil of passing through whatever places is that this girl got herself into while playing her games. The stains of mud and dirt at the edges of her skirt were testimony of that. She wore no footwear or stockings of any kind; surprisingly enough her bare feet were clean and free of any kind of grubbiness. It was really puzzling as to why her clothes got stained and dirty but she specifically in her body, in her skin did not. Overall she was hardly properly dressed, but children do tend to dress in the most odd and curious manners. The most prominent feature of the girl, were her mismatched eyes -hard to not notice them since she was staring directly at Alice and her companions- one blue and one green.

The girl made a squeal, a sound that seemed a combination of surprise and joy "It's you! You came back!" she said before running at Alice and latching at her mid-waist in a hug. Leaving both Alice and Jack perplexed; Cheshire it seemed knew who this girl was for he suddenly became anxious and edgy, his posture tensed. He conspicuously retreated and performed his disappearing act without alerting anyone.

Alice didn't expect this, the girl knew who she was but she on the other hand didn't know her back. She wasn't one of the orphanage children for she knew them all by name. She would have to inquire the girl for answers. Slowly and subtlety she broke the hug that the girl had on her, she beamed a smile as to reassure the child and asked "Hello little one, what are you doing alone in a place like this?"

"What? I am playing of course. Why do you ask me such a silly question? I've always liked this place, reminds me of my home; except here there are others I can play with. It's been years since I last came to visit. I don't know why the door to this place closed, but it was. No one could enter and I was sad because I thought I would not be able to play with you again. But now the door is open once more and that's the only thing that matters; we can play again like we use to, you and I"

Alice was at a loss, why did this girl treated her with such familiarity? Why can't she remember her back? "I'm sorry I don't mean to sound rude but; have we met before? You speak as if you know me, but I don't remember ever meeting you before" she said.

The girl was alarmed by that declaration "You don't remember me? But we used to play often here in wonderland or in my realm. Back in the asylum, you used to come here to avoid the mean people and I was here waiting for you and we played until all the adults leave you alone. Why did you forget me? We used to be friends" the girl was getting more and more anxious with each passing moment "We met here in wonderland and you invited me to play with you; we had so much fun together. But then one day you were gone and I could not enter here anymore. I was so sad; I thought you didn't wanted to be friend with me any longer. For years wonderland has been closed to anyone, even me and my siblings we been left out, not even my brother Dream has been able to enter. Which is really strange, there are not many places in which we cannot enter into" the girl laughed in a foolish fashion "Well that doesn't anymore now that this realm is open again" she said to Alice, who was trying hard to remember the girl in front of her and slowly, but surely she was able to pierce the veil that shrouded her memories.

"I think I remember you..." She said, finally remembering who the girl is "Your name is Delirium is it not? I remember inviting you to my tea parties when I was in the Asylum"

"YAY! You remember me now" the girl -Delirium- exclaimed merrily, content that she was finally recognized. An explosion of a multitude of colors sprouted suddenly from the little girl, possibly a reaction from her joyfulness at being remembered. Those colors transformed into little Butterflies and fishes that floated jovially around her body and then happily blowing or fading away. Alice didn't bat an eyelash at such display; she was accustomed to such oddities while in wonderland, though she was mildly annoyed by her sudden reaction making a slight frown at Delirium's abruptness. Jack on the other hand was in complete disbelief; for a moment she thought she was suffering from a mild hallucination. Never had she saw -much less imagined- a small girl popping little colorful creatures out of nowhere.

"Yes, though most of what I can remember is flimsy and abstruse" said Alice "I think I'll need you to help me remember what still escapes my recollection"

Delirium smiled at her and nodded in agreement "Alright!" she exclaimed joyfully "I will help you, here let me have a look at you"

The girl stood straight and put a hand under her chin. She paced around Alice imitating the way a doctor looks and diagnoses a patient during a check-up while at the same time making mumbling noises "mmmph... mmmphmph... mphmphmph..." Delirium wasn't taking the situation much seriously it would seem.

"Well?... Have you found anything to say or not?" questioned Alice in an irritated tone

"Ahhh! Sorry" answered delirium apologetically, her posture changed to a more focused one "...mmm... this is a pretty curious thingy" she said more to herself rather than the others.

"What? Is something wrong?" asked Alice.

"I don't know"

"What do you mean you don't know?" blurted Jack brusquely, getting fed-up of all this nonsense.

"I don't know if it is something wrong" said Delirium off-handily "but I know it is a pretty rare thing, this doesn't happen very... -she trailed off briefly, scratching her head- well I can't really remember if this ever happened before"

"What is _it, _anyway?"

Delirium pointed at Alice "You have my brother's mark on you" she told her.

Alice quickly started to examine herself; caught off-guard by Delirium's comment, she felt disquieted at that. To the best of her knowledge no one has ever lay a hand on her without her permission in a very long time. That someone put a mark on her without her realizing it was alarming. She was pleased to find no rare sign or mark on her.

"I think you must be mistaken; I see no mark on me" she said with contentment

"You silly" Delirium playfully scolded her "Is not just any kind of mark, this one is special. You can't see it because you're not supposed to; it has to be a secret you see. Only certain people can see it; Here! Let me show it to you"

The girl standup in her tiptoes and put a finger on Alice forehead. There was a flash of light and a glowing symbol appeared in the middle of her forehead.

"See, there it is. I told you it was secret"

"I can't believe it!" Alice yelled in an outburst "someone painted this on me and without my permission, the nerve! What kind of rude person does that to other people?"

"I take it's a rare thing that you brother gives his mark to anyone" Said Jack ignoring Alice's righteous outrage.

"Not really" Delirium said nonchalantly "Me and my brothers and my sisters, we mark a lot of people. Is part of our jobs"

"THEN WHY IS A RARE THING THAT ALICE HAS A MARK ON HER" Jack barked, her patience spent. Delirium was surprised by her sudden ire and was knocked backwards a little.

"Woooaaah!" she exclaimed "Why you shout? I can hear you perfectly"

Jack was already entering in her crazy dangerous bitch mode. She grabbed delirium from the collar and started to jostle her violently.

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP! I'M SICK OF HAVING TO LISTEN TO YOUR CRAZY BULLSHIT"

"Jack! Stop that, it does nothing to help resolve the situation" ordered Alice with a stern look, stopping her own tantrum for the sake of others.

"Tch; Fine!" Jack replied dropping delirium who fell unceremoniously with a squeak.

The little girl got back on her feet and dusted herself off; looking at jack with mild annoyance "You're rude, I don't like you"

"Oh! Booo, Hooo little baby is gonna cry? Well tough luck!" Jack spat back

"Jack! That is enough!" again Alice admonished the tattooed woman, she approached Delirium and tried to comfort the girl "It's alright little one, don't mind about Jack. She's hard to deal by, but you get used to her after a while. Anyway, would you please explain why it is a rare occurrence that I been marked by your brother if such practice is common among your kin?"

Delirium smiled at her happily in acknowledgment "Ok! I'll tell you" she said "We all give our marks on people that caught our attention or because they are important for… something?" Delirium trailed off scratching her head once more "I dunno I just mark the people that I like, but sometimes my big brothers tell me not to mark someone because they are important. Something about destinies to fulfill is what they usually say to me. Anyway, you have my brother's mark, yes? Well usually that's okay, but I already had marked you before. I found it strange that my brother had lay dibs on you when I had already done it"

Delirium grabbed Alice's right hand and with another flash of light a second mark was revealed in the back of her hand.

"This one I gave it to you when we first met" seeing how Alice was starting to frown a little, Delirium quickly added "Don't worry! I asked you permission before putting my mark on you and you accepted it. You said that it may come in handy, you know to be under the watch of someone like me" Delirium swayed her head and pointed at herself beaming a smile.

"I see" mentioned Alice, taking in consideration all that she had just been told "Well I suppose it's good that you've asked me permission; unlike your brother. I'll make sure to give him a piece of my mind if I ever meet him" she said furrowing her brow "So, I suppose that the strange occurrence here is that I am marked by both you and your brother?" she inquired.

"Yes" delirium confirmed with several nods "Is not like we do not share; sometimes me along other of my siblings we play with the same mortal, but we usually take turns when doing that" Delirium laughed and started speaking in a sing-song voice "First comes Desire and great pleasure he -or is it she?- takes in watching their wishes and yearnings crumbling down. Then comes Despair and in her clutches she swirls them and if Death does not take them; then my turn it's next, to pick the pieces of their crumbled lives and put them back together. But I never put them the way they used to be you see; there's always something that is broken or missing so I have to make due. I place them in different spots than the ones before, it's funnier that way and they're always happy and smiling when I'm done"

Jack didn't wanted to show it, but Delirium's speech had unnerved her greatly. "You talk as if people were toys for you to play with and cast aside once you had your fun with them" she said in a strained voice.

Delirium tilted her head sideways in erratic thought, disregarding how close she was of pushing Jack into another violent outburst –as the biotic was certainly not fond of the idea of others playing with people lives- she aloofly replied "But I do like to play"

Now Jack had every intention of strangling Delirium with her own hands, she started to approach menacingly at her with hands upfront in malicious intent. Once again Alice had to intervene "Jack please! Don't start again; I'm getting tired of scolding you. She's just a little girl; Have some patience with her would you?"

"Patience? Why? We're just wasting time here and I don't like the way she looks at me; makes me feel that I'm nothing more than a toy to her"

"huh? I didn't take you as a person who would easily be frightened by such trivialities my esteemed Jack" said Cheshire materializing behind the bald woman.

"AHHH! You Motherffff- SHIT! What did I tell you of scaring me like that you fucking cat. You're starting to piss me off" she threatened at the grinning cat.

Delirium started to laugh in childish manner at Jack's misfortune "HA, HA, HA, you said piss" she blurted before exploding in a fit of giggles much to Jack's chagrin.

"Cat; why you never mentioned her before? I assume someone who puts a mark on me should be a concern worth of pointing out". Asked Alice to the mangy feline.

"Does it matter? Wonderland was beyond reach to all but its inhabitants, even if I had told you that you've had meet with certain, shall we say? _Intriguing _individuals; it would had done nothing to improve your situation at the time. Besides; I wasn't aware that she was able to enter inside this place once more, it's been a while since I last saw her" he said off-handily.

"KITTYYYYY" cried Delirium cheerfully before bouncing in Cheshire direction. The emaciated cat was only able to show a brief expression of dread on his face before getting his neck crushed in a tight hug.

"(Unrecognizable noises) Yesssss, just as I remembered (groan) she hasn't changed a bit at all" blurted the cat.

"Oh! Cheshire, you've always been the most lovable of all" mocked Alice between giggles.

"Get her off me" pleaded desperately the feline, not appreciating Alice's tease; even Jack founded funny his current situation. Eventually the raven haired complied and released him from Delirium's terrible hold, much to his relief.

Delirium was a bit disappointed for letting the cat go "Awwww! But I want to play with Kitty, why can't I play with him?" she asked in an infantile way.

Cheshire recomposed himself the best he could "Drats! Not even when you were a child did I have to suffer such aggravating forms of affection" he said to Alice; who just ignored him and focused on answering delirium's question instead.

"Well sweetie; there is nothing that we –she heard a snort behind her coming from both her companions- _I _would love more than play with you. –She turned around briefly to toss a glare to the interlopers- But right now, we are running in a tight schedule. You see; there are all these new people inside my wonderland, who are not supposed to be here. They came here by accident and I must ensure to send them off away somewhere else. Otherwise… well? I really can't find comfort in the thought of having strangers running around inside my head"

The little girl nodded in understanding "Yeah I get it. I never liked either when things happened to my head. There was this time when I lost it and I couldn't remember where I had put it. I looked for my head everywhere but I wasn't able to find it, so I gave up. But is it not funny how things tend to find themselves when you are not looking for them? So, just as it disappeared on its own; my head found its way back to me. I was so happy to have it back again, even though my head was not like the way I remembered it to be and it hasn't been the same ever since. But a head's a head and as long as I have one I'll be happy"

Jack stared at the girl in disbelief "Righttttt!" she exclaimed "that didn't sound crazy at all"

Before anyone of them could come with a reply; a new figure made act of presence. Time felt like freezing and the new figure emerged practically out of nowhere.

They felt their surroundings shift, reality itself parted to allow entrance to the newcomer. It was a tall and gaunt man with the most pale skin than any of them had ever seen, almost white as snow. His ebony hair was even more disheveled than delirium's own. His eyes were bottomless pits of pure inky blackness; his pupils were 2 radiant stars that shone brighter than any other of the stars in the sky. It gave the impression that if you looked too much into those eyes you could run the risk of losing yourself inside of them forever. His clothes- it seemed as if he was covered in a mantle of stars; as if the most starry of the nights had enveloped him and cloaked him entirely in its infinity. He spoke in the smoothest tone ever heard and the sound of his voice felt as something far older and wiser than the earth itself.

"**_Delirium? There you are my dear sister; I thought I had told you not to come play in here. This place still feels too soft_**" said the man; Cheshire recognized him immediately. All traces of his usual smugness were gone and he promptly knelled in servient reverence. That alarmed Alice greatly, never had she seen Cheshire acting this way before. Who was this man -if man he was- to earn such unquestionable obedience from Cheshire?

"My lord Dream you honor us with your presence" said the cat in a cowed tone.

"**_Greetings, Cheshire it's good to see you are faring well. I have not seen you since before wonderland's first crisis, it is indeed a disgrace that I had not the opportunity to lay a visit before_**" replied the gaunt man; Dream as Cheshire had called him. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Alice was at a loss and Jack was not in a better position herself. When did Cheshire met this man? They address each other in much too familiar term, But before she could inquire; Delirium bursted in with her jolliness.

"BROTHER!" She exclaimed in delight and started to prancing around his older sibling with childish contentment "You came; you are here, same like me, the two of us in here, together, you and I"

Dream stopped her in the middle of her tirade "**_That is enough Delirium. Don't think that you can lead my attention astray with your perkiness. I came here to address your misdeeds; didn't I specifically prohibited you from entering in this realm?_**" he demanded.

Delirium answered back to his brother with a puffy groan "But this place is so much fun; it has so many pretty colors and there are a lot of people here to play with"

The elder sibling shook his head in disappointment at his younger kin "**_You should not play with the lives of mortals, Delirium. It is not our place to dictate the courses their lives should take; we have a function to uphold after all_**" he stated in a mild scolding tone.

The little girl let loose of one of her sprouts of colors, her hair flocking wildly and passing swiftly through various and random; but very exotic hairstyles, while her face turned into a pout. "You are no fun Big brother" she whimpered "there's nothing wrong with what I do. They like it when I play with them, we all have a little fun. You should try to get some"

"Ummm! I don't want to intrude, but I would appreciate if you could take the time to tell us who you are" interjected Alice addressing to the man a little uncertainly; but she quickly grew past it and acted demandingly "It is considered quite rude to barge into other people conversations without introducing yourself first, not to mention pretend to ignore said people and acting as if they were not there at all"

The gaunt man -Dream- turned and bore his gaze upon her, Alice felt as if his eyes could pierce deep into her very soul, she felt uncomfortable to say the least. To her relief the man tilted his head in a tiny nod and acknowledged her.

"**_Yes, you are correct; my apologies if I seemed rude to you. It was not my intention; I was simply concerned for my sister over here, she is easily excitable and tends to cause a lot of trouble because of it_**".

"I wouldn't know about that, she's been behaving fairly decently; although is not like the standards for decent behavior are considered very tight around here in wonderland" she sidetracked taking a glimpse at Delirium who was currently latching herself at Cheshire forcing him to play with her, Alice couldn't resist from smirking "anyway back on topic. I would like to know who am I speaking to"

"**_Certainly"_** answered Dream; he performed an elaborate reverence that released shimmers of light and cosmic winds. It was a very colorful and marvelous display; Alice was immediately enraptured by it. "**I am Dream of the endless**" he said as his voice rose in a strong and dignified tone "**_I am the shepherd of dreams, the lord and master of every idea, every thought, and every illusion that has ever existed or might be_**"

Alice was speechless at dream's introduction, she stammered in her response a little bit "I... I"

"**_I know who you are Alice Liddell_**" Said dream looking directly at her "**_I know your dreams; this wonderland of yours, I know it well. It is a mysterious and beautiful place I am amazed in the skills you displayed to give it form_**"

"What? How do you know of my wonderland? I don't remember seeing you around here before" the young woman asked in confusion.

Dream chuckled a little at her answer. It was a wondrous and melodious sound "**I'm not surprised. Mortals usually don't remember meeting me after they return into the waking world. We have met many times before; in fact we see each other every day**".

"We... We do?" Alice was surprised by that answer, she tried hard to remember if in fact she had seen dream before. "How so?"

"**_Simple, we see each other every night, when you go to sleep you're entering into my realm. You may not always see me but you know I'm there watching over you from the edges of your subconscious; moving, flickering and sliding through your dreams_**"

"That sounds a little creepy for my taste if you ask me. I don't like people watching me from afar; It is unsettling." replied Alice a little offended.

"_**I apologize if my confession has caused you any discomfort. But I cannot feel guilty for my actions; it is necessary for me to do so since I'm responsible for all the dreams of mortals and their welfare while they traverse the dreaming**_".

"The Dreaming?" inquired Alice pursing her lips "that's the place where all people go when they sleep, isn't it?"

Dream nodded in confirmation "**_Indeed, I am the embodiment of the Dreaming itself. As I had said all the people that dreams during their sleep has to pass before my gaze while I guard over their dreams_**"

Alice was pondering in all that Dream had said, taking notice of his looks, his bearing, the way his voice sounded. She soon reached the conclusion that she was dealing with a very powerful being; she could not resist the need to ask "Excuse mister Dream sir, but... Are you a God?"

Once again Alice heard the melodious chuckles of the lord of dreams "A**_ God?_**" he said while swaying his head in amusement "**_Why do mortals always give the label of God to any being that is beyond their comprehension?_**"

Alice felt a ting of disappointment swelling inside her, she had fooled herself thinking that her suspicions were accurate "So you're not a god?" she said a little bit crestfallen "I thought you were, you certainly could pass as one with your appearance"

"**_You're not the first one to had thought it so_**" dream replied "But I must assert to you, young miss, that there is a whole lot of expanse that separates me from the Gods"

"Really?" Alice inquired perking up again "Please do tell, I must said I am intrigued by you and your sister and would like to know more about the two of you"

Jack was about to make a complaint against that course of action, but a fulminant glare from Alice made her reconsider.

"_**If that's your wish**_" dream conceded, not caring for their little display. He pondered for few seconds before addressing Alice again "_**Tell me young Alice; do you know how Gods are born?**_"

Obviously Alice didn't, she was not ashamed to admit it "No, I'm afraid not. Do you know?"

"**_Yes I do. Its men who create their own gods, their dreams is what gives them life. They are born in the dreaming and when they are ready, they leave the dreaming behind and search for power to take for themselves. But the power of the gods relies heavily in their followers. If a God loses its acolytes, if there is no one to believe in him; then the God falls in disgrace and its diminished. In time, after a very slow process that usually takes centuries, the God will be forgotten by the people who once revered him and when that happens, then he has no options but to make a trip back into the Dreaming from whence he came. And what happens next; well? That is something only I am entitled to know_**"

Alice was fascinated by Dream explanation "Wow! That's really something to think about...mmm... so what is the difference between you and the Gods?"

"**_Simple; Unlike the Gods, me and my siblings do not require of someone to believe in us in order to exist. We carry on our tasks whether people acknowledges our presence or not, we will always be here until the end of days_**"

"I... I can't imagine what would it be to live that long, it must be quite lonely" Alice said trying to wrap her mind on such a concept, she missed Dream lowering his gaze for just a second.

"_**Sometimes**_" he whispered in a barely audible voice. Alice refocused her attention a moment after.

"Still... It's not surprise I mistook you for a God. You are a very... how should I praise it? Noteworthy individual, master Dream"

"**_Yes, I do have been mistaken for a god in the past. Over the course of history many civilizations had worshiped me as one. I've received many names from those who had sought guidance or purpose; It is not my place however to answer their prayers and eventually like many other gods, they forget about me too and carry on with their existence. Many times I have been forgotten; only for humanity to stumble upon me again and labeling me under a new name_**"

"Really? What kind of names?" Alice inquired.

The lord of dreams smirked a little "**_It would take me a long time to recite them all. But from all the names I have been bestowed by mortals. The ones I've liked the most has been Morpheus and Oneiros; Though Morpheus has always been my favorite. I have even taken it as a second designation for myself since that name describes me and my functions so well_**"

When dream finished his explanation, he realized that Alice was looking at him with mouth agape and her companion the bald tattooed woman -whom he already knows beforehand that her name is Jack-, was stunned stupid with wide yes.

"You are Morpheus!" Alice squeaked "The Greek God of dreams" Alice felt quite humbled at being in the presence of such a notorious figure as Dream; She hastily bowed knowing it was the proper thing to show deference to someone of his status "It is a great honor to meet you; never I would had imagined that I would play host to such a distinguished person here in my wonderland. Oh! But what kind of host have I been? I should have offered you a cup of tea already; But Alas..." She glanced at her surroundings, noticing nothing but trees and toadstools "I'm afraid I lack the proper equipment. Oh! Where is the hatter when I need him, he ought to have the proper cutlery that I require"

"_**That would not be necessary**_" said Dream motioning for her to calm down "_**My presence here was not expected. I came uninvited after all**._"

"That is not excuse to leave you without tea" replied the raven-haired girl adamantly "It's only proper to always had a pot of tea at the ready in case of visitors, whether they are expected or not. I should have been more attentive. What would people say if they heard that I did not offer a seat and a cup of tea to the God of Dreams?" she mentioned with concern.

"_**I am not a God young Alice, didn't we just had a conversation concerning that issue?**_" said the lord of dreams raising an eyebrow, but not really bothered by Alice insistence of calling him a God. He was accustomed to being referred as such from time to time by mortals.

"Rhetoric!" Alice answered back with a wave of her hand "You are still a very important individual, are you not? I mean, the lord of Dreams. You can't expect to hold such position and not be entitled to demand others to acknowledge and treat you according to your station" she explained.

"_**Perhaps**_" Dream conceded "**_But their admiration is hardly something that I need to perform my obligations. My function is too much important to be distracted by such triteness_**"

"I guess" She took Dream's logic into consideration, she was about to say more but Jack barged in their conversation

"Way a minute; you can't possibly believe what _Sparkly_ over here is saying" Said jack referring to Dream who just raised an eyebrow in confusion at being called in such a way, never in his eons of existence had he received such a diminishing name; Death would found that amusing if she were here "I mean, he's Morpheus? A fucking god? That's impossible; I can't believe you fall for that" she said with heavy skepticism in her voice "How stuck-up can one person be? There's no way he can be a god unless he's dreaming and even if he is that's way to egotistical"

"Well? This is my dream after all, so there's a very high possibility for him to be one" replied Alice mildly upset at Jack for interrupting her but granting that she had a valid doubt.

Dream made a knowing smile at both their statements "**_Your friend speaks more truth than what she realizes Alice; for where else would the lord of dreams rule if not in dreams_**"

Alice became deep in thought thinking about that statement "That has a lot of sense when you think about it" She admitted; her brow creased a little, something was starting to bother her in the back of her mind "You know, it just occurred to me... I mean, I know this is my dream; but you are the deity of dreams, so? Does that mean that you could take control over my wonderland?"

"**_Indeed_**" answered back the dream-weaver with a nod "**_I am the master of dreams, am I not? Even though your wonderland has started to take roots elsewhere, it is still connected to the dreaming in some measure. After all it is there where it was born, so it is expected that I would have a level of control over any child that came from my realm. Although the stewardship of this place is more your responsibility than mine; you are its chosen ruler not I_**"

"What do you mean when you say my wonderland is taking roots" Questioned further the raven-haired maiden.

"**_Think about the dreaming as a some kind of nest and your wonderland as a little bird._**" explained Dream; images swirling from his open palm "**_As you know the little bird will eventually grow and leave the nest in search of a place where to build one of its own. Your wonderland is currently in this instance, it is settling itself on a place of its own. A new realm if you wish, located somewhere between the dreaming and the real of my little sister Delirium_**"

"Wow" exclaimed Alice in surprise "I take it this has happened before?"

"**_Yes!_**" huffed the lord of dreams with a dismissal wave of his hand "**_but usually this particular occurrence tends to take place when a new god is born. As I had said, man creates its own gods but when a god is born, a new realm is also created for him to dwell and guard over it._**" the ethereal being placed a finger on his chin in thought, mulling profusely on the issue "**_It was never intended for a mortal to have a realm of his own. The fact that you managed to create one and at a tender age -nonetheless- is astounding, truly impressive_**" he tilted his head at Alice's direction "_**You my dear girl are a rarity, a one-of-a-kind occurrence. You have gathered the attention of higher entities and many powerful beings have now their eyes placed upon you**_"

"What?" questioned the young woman rather alarmed "I don't like the sound of that. How is one to have some privacy if I have strangers peeping at me? That's just so... gross!" she shuddered involuntarily, only to end up scowling at Jack a moment later for laughing at her displeasure.

Dream tried to reassure the young lady somewhat. "**_It is nothing like that child. You will just have many unique individuals keeping an eye on your current state and the situation in your wonderland. Maybe a few visits from time to time to satisfy their curiosity, nothing more_**"

Alice didn't seem much convinced but is not like as if she could rebuke the word of the lord of dreams, she knew that so she had no option but concede "… very well, if you say so I'll had to take your word for it" she then tried to change subject "I would assume that something went wrong with the _settling_ of my wonderland, i would not be surprised since everytime that I come inside this place I have a crisis or another to resolve."

"**_You are correct_**" affirmed dream "**_there has been complications with the nesting of this realm_**"

"What kind of complications?"

"_**Well? In a normal instance there should had been no trouble at all, but your strong belief in your dream as much as it has helped in its forming is now also being the cause for this new crisis. You broke the barriers between the dreaming and the waking world and now your dream is starting to spill into the other side. The walls that separate wonderland and the mortal plane are dwindling; if you allow this to continue wonderland would surely turn into a soft place**_"

"A soft place? I'm afraid I don't know what that is" said Alice.

"_**Yes I suppose you wouldn't**_" mentioned Dream before elaborating an answer "**_A soft place is where the dreaming and the waking world intertwines, reality flickers and fluctuates in every possible direction dragging everything that is unfortunate to wander too close inside of it. It tends to confuse and mislead the unwary and can act as a gateway between multiple dimensions and realms. Last, but not least, time itself has no meaning inside its boundaries. You could walk inside one and never find your way out, forever doomed to wander in its wastes or you could walk its roads for an eternity and when and if you manage to get out, you'll find that no time has passed at all since you left. The briefest explanation I can give you is that it is a place that can function as an inter-dimensional gateway where past, present and future collides_**"

Alice was having a hard time in keeping up with Dream, such notions of gateways and other dimensions where beyond her "I'm not entirely sure if I understand all what you're saying lord Morpheus, but it doesn't sound as a place that I would like my wonderland to turn into. It sounds messy to say the least, is that the reason why I have strangers stumbling inside my wonderland uninvited?"

"**_Partially, yes_**" confirmed Dream "_**But is also because many of them dream of being in here**_"

"**_What? How is that possible?_**" said Alice at a loss.

"**_Remember Alice, your wonderland is connected to the dreaming. If any of the dreamers would want it, they could walk inside your wonderland whenever they so desire_ **it"

Alice was stunned by that revelation; her eyes were wide like plates. She never would have suspected that her wonderland could be so easily breached by others, that the most inner secrets and dreams of her mind could be so defenseless "Good Heavens No!" she reared back in fright "I don't want outsiders invading my head" she clutched her head in denial "I don't want my inner thoughts and feelings to be exhibited to anyone who walks in"

Dream couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity for the girl, she was so young and already she has suffered much; indeed it is a sad thing as how the most wondrous and marvelous of things are damaged or destroyed by the vainness of man. This girl, she is special she can do things that no other mortal can, wondrous and oh so beautiful things; it is a shame really as to how much pain her gift has brought to her. There was no doubt in Dream's mind that Alice had no place among the world of men, they could not understand how precious she really was; they would only bring her demise if she were to remain among them.

The lord of dreams chose his words carefully "**_I'm truly sorry if my news disturbs you, but I'm afraid that is how the world of dreams works- regardless of how would you like it to be. It is true that you may be the one who thought about this dream in the first place, but that does not make it to belong just to you, child. A dream belongs to all; you don't understand how easy it is to share a dream, it can attract and ensnare a lot of people into believing in it. That way a dream lives on even when its creator is long gone and forgotten. Mortal desires, their achievements and monuments are but a fickle thing, easily erased and buried by time; but a dream can live forever as long as even 1 person believes in it_**" he said with outmost solemnity. He pressed on a little more lively "**Besides! Even if it were possible to close your wonderland to outsiders, it would be already too late nevertheless**".

Knowing that Alice would ask the reason for that claim, Dream kept speaking before the British girl was able to voice her question "**_You have already shared your dream with others. Most recently are the children from your orphanage, you brought them here and showed them this place; now they come here and walk through wonderland's roads every night. If you had the chance to close your dream to others?" _**he questioned Alice**_"Would you deny this dream to them?_**"

Alice slowly lowered her head in shame, she knew the truth to that already-, she would not do it even if she had the chance. "No. I would not" she whispered.

"**_Do not be sad because others share your dream_**" Lord Morpheus tried to console the young woman "**_In time you would see how your dream becomes into a wondrous thing because of that, even more so that it is already. But in order for that to happen, you must first ensure that your wonderland does not turns into a soft place because it would not be able to handle the wavering and randomness that such phenomenon tends to bring, it only interferes with the delicate process of the nesting of your wonderland. You must not allow that to happen, it could only bring disaster if left unchecked_**".

"Would you not help me?" she begged to the lord of dreams. He only shook his head as answer.

"**_I'm sorry but no; as I have said, you are the chosen ruler of this realm not I. It would not be proper of me to interfere with the concerns of other realms. Only if you fail should I be allowed to intervene; for the loss of your wonderland would put the entirety of the dreaming in danger. But I have faith in you young Alice; you have proven to be quite apt in the past to deal with these kinds of situations_**"

Despite Dream's reassurances Alice did not share his optimism.

"Please is there nothing that you could do? Any aid that you could give me? Any hint? Any piece of advice? Anything? I feel so oppressed right now, there are nothing but walls toppling down on me all around; all that I've tried so hard to build for myself is now gone and my wonderland, my sanity for which I have fought with all my strength to preserve is being destroyed no matter how hard I try to save it. Please is there nothing you can do to help me?" she pleaded in desperation

Despite the impassive face that Dream was maintaining; he was feeling indecisive inside. The girl had so much potential, it would be such a great shame to see it wasted. He pondered what he could do to help her without breaking the ancient laws that even beings like him were bound to follow. Luckily he found that there may be such an option.

"**_Perhaps there is truly something that may be able to help you in solving this situation_**" he said bringing a finger to his chin; he got close to Alice and from inside his mantle the lord of dreams brought forth his mask.

Alice was a little taken by surprise when she saw Dream pulling out a big foreboding mask from practically out of thin air. It had an intimidating look; it appeared as if it was made from the skull of some alien and terrifying creature with a long bony trunk instead of mouth and two big and dark hollow cavities where the eyes should have been.

"**_This is one of my objects of power grafted with a great part of my own essence_**" said dream displaying the eerie object to Alice "**_This is my mask; I crafted it myself eons ago from the bones of a dead god who I killed personally back when the universe was young_**" even Jack was enthralled by the mystic object that seemed to radiate with ancient power.

"So what is what you are trying to say milord Dream? Are you implying that you are going to lend me your mask?" asked the raven-haired lady.

"**_Yes and no young Alice, I will lend you a mask just not this one_**". He saw the look of confusion in Alice face and motioned her to be patient "**_Please! Allow me to elaborate; before I crafted this mask I was in possession of another, one that I discarded when I created this one, but even though I got rid of that other mask it still an artifact of impressive power. I am sure that if you wear my former mask it will be more than enough to allow you to stop the fluctuations that are currently wreaking havoc in your wonderland_**"

Alice was intrigued to say the least; it certanly seemed something that would indeed be of great help, she wanted to know more about this other mask. "And that other mask? How is it called" she asked.

The lord of dreams smiled, he was certain that Alice would like what he was about to say "**_Simple. The mirrormask_**"

"The mirrormask?" repeated Alice tasting the name on her lips "I like that name, it sounds so pretty" her brow creased a little before speaking further "It is just as it sounds? Right? I don't want to commit the same mistake that I did with the chill pills."

"**_Yes, Alice. It is just as it sounds" Said dream with a soft smile, although he internally wondered about that chill pills comment. He quickly branded it as irrelevant "A mask that it is a mirror, it is hard to miss it for obvious reasons. It has also been named the mask of dreams _**(1)**_because it allows its wearer to enter in the dreamworld and manipulate it in some extent, hence why I thought it could be of some use to your endeavours_**"

Alice perked up in anticippation "Yes it does, with the mirrormask I'm sure I will be able to save my wonderland. So do you know where it is?" she asked.

"_**Sadly no**_" was Dream's answer "**_It's been eons since I discarded it. I doubt it has stayed in the same place after all that time. It's more than likely than someone else has found it by know_**"

"So you don't know its location?" replied Alice a little let down.

"**_I only know its last location, which is where I left it. But as I've said, it would not be of much help_**"

Alice released a disappointed sigh, she should have known better than to expected that her problems would have an easy solution. But not all was lost, because Morpheus had a plan.

"**_But I suspect you should ask someone who has an ear on the hidden secrets of the Dreamworld, I believe your friend Catterpillar would know what the mirrormask's current location is_**"

"Caterpillar? How would Caterpillar know about that, granted he is very knowledgeable in many aspects, but you are the Lord of Dreams how could he know more than you on such subjects" Alice inquired a little baffled at Dream's revelation.

"**_Despite my -and by extent- my siblings' immense powers; we are not completely omniscients. There are things that have managed to hide from our vision even in our own realms. Sometimes it pays to know people who have their ear-on-the-ground, so to speak. And Catterpillar is one of such individuals. Do not worry Alice, just keep doing what you were before I came and you'll do just fine_**"

"So that's it? My mission remains the same, I'll still have to go and see Caterpillar; only now my questions will not be the same"

"_**Yes, I have no doubt you would be able to resolve this crisis without trouble, so I bid goodbye to you for now Alice Liddell**_" Dream motioned to his sister who was still playing with cheshire and with nothing but a look called her attention "**_Come Delirium it is time for us to go_**"

The spunky little girl did not like the idea "Awww! We have to?" she groaned "I wanted to play some more"

"**_You can always come back here later Delirium, for now we still have our duties to perform_**" her older sibling retorted

Delirium grudgungly complied "Tch! KKKey, I'll go but I promise I will be back"

"That would be great" said Alice "Next time I'll make sure you stay up for tea" she promised.

"Okay; Bye" Delirium waved goodbye before dissapearing in an explosion of colors and weaving lights.

Alice stood waving back until there was nothing more to see and adressed back to Dream "I hope I see you too again my lord Dream" she told him.

"**_I'll always be here, every time you dream_**" he solemnly replied before performing a bow for goodbye "**_Farewell, Alice Liddell, I hope for your quest to reach a satisfying conclusion. Goodbye for now and remember there are many who have high expectations about you_**" and with that words the lord of dreams departed. His robes billowed on its own as if struck by a non-existent breeze, and like the wind itself he was gone.

"Wow! Nice trick" said Jack perplexed at seeing Dream's disappearing act "I thought they would never leave. So… Now what?" she asked

"Well it wasn't that bad after all; I was starting to grow fond of the little one against all odds. She had such a fresh attitude" said Cheshire in a haughty tone.

Alice cleared a strand of hair from her face before addressing her companions "We must be off now; as lord Dream said, we have a job to do"

"Does that mean we are still going to see the Caterpillar?" asked Jack resting her back on a tree, rather unconcerned of what their next course of action would be.

"Yes we are! C'mon then, we have dallied enough as it is" prompted Alice.

With that the 3 travelers carried on with their objective.

* * *

><p><em>(1) Here in Spanish speaking countries the movie mirrormask was known under the name The Mask of Dreams.<em>

_So here it is the 3rd chapter at his full length as I had said that I would update it. Sorry for taking too long. I was distracted with all the videogames that were released in the end year. They made me neglect my works, but now I'm good and there are no more disctractions._


	4. Falling out of the looking glass

**Author's note:** Hello, I'm sure you people are glad that this story is not dead after all, sorry it took so long but I had said previously that I would not be doing any update during the winter because I was going to be busy with all the insane amount of games that were released in that dates. But is all done now, I played and finished them all, took my sweet time while at it and now there is nothing to distract me from working on my stories. Now that vacation time is over, is time to keep going on with the show.

Now, before you start reading this chapter, it would be best that you re-read the last one. As I had said earlier, it was incomplete and I was to update it to its full length. And that's exactly what I did, so you better read it and tell me if you like it.

**Disclaimer:** As usual I don't own synch, all belongs to some other people I won't bother mentioning. No that's not true all belongs to EA alone… I think.

**Chapter 3: Falling out of the looking glass**

"This is it, Jack is right here" Said Miranda glancing around the control panel and into the containment pods located on the other side of the Plexiglass. After some briefs engagements the Normandy's ground team had finally reached the control room from which to release subject zero from its imprisonment; Commander Shepard wasted no second to access the lock controls of the whole station.

"If we hack that access point, every door in the cell block will open" warned Garrus worried about the implications of letting the inmates running free through the station.

"It's the only way to get Jack out of there" replied Miranda.

Shepard took a few seconds to think about options, coming out with no other choice he decides to release the locks.

"I'm doing it! Be ready" he told his teammates.

"I just hope you know what you're doing" said Garrus having a bad felling about what was going to happen.

"We have no choice" Answered Shepard back with certainty "Prepare to disengage the lock"

Shepard pushed a button and the entire mechanism came to life and while Jack's containment unit was being prepared for opening, reanimation procedures were being initiated inside the pod to awaken Jack from her frozen state.

At the same time in wonderland, the odd group of travelers had finally managed to exit the woods and reach of what was the beginning of a large and imposing mountain range tickly covered in mist.

"Finally! We're out of those fucking damn woods" exclaimed Jack raising her arms over her head as if praising to the heavens.

"Yes we are, although I wouldn't have phrased my relief in such way" said Alice, again getting annoyed by Jack's language.

"Who cares!" retorted Jack "Where to next?" she demanded.

"Over there my esteemed Jack" Cheshire helped and pointed at the mountains "Caterpillar is waiting at the other side of this small hill, be careful not to slip"

Jack was less than pleased when she saw the mountains; she of course expressed her discomfort in her unique way "WAAAGH! Fuck no, I ain't going to climb no mountain, hell no, you can't make me"

"What's the matter Jack? Why you are so whimsy all of a sudden" Asked Alice in a teasing voice with a mischief glint in her eye "I thought you had said that you didn't had anything better to do, if I recall"

"That was before I knew that we were going to be only prancing around like idiots. That's certainly not my definition for fun" grumbled back the tattooed woman.

Alice seemed to be enjoying the whimpering of the older woman, if her cheeky grin was any indication "Well, I'm not going to force you to accompany in this endeavor if it is something you don't fancy. You can always turn back and return to the forest once more, _all by yourself_ if you like" she said with no small hint of smugness in her voice.

Mumbling under her breath, Jack knew that the younger woman had her by the _balls_, so to speak. My, my, who would have thought that Alice could be so wickedly devious? Just thinking about it made her feel migraines; actually it seemed that whatever was that Jack was starting to feel, it was something not quite like a migraine. She started to feel, like waking up?

"Wow! I feel weird" She said in a meek voice "I think something is wrong with me" and that was somewhat true because she could not overcome the sudden sensation of misplacement that struck her.

"Jack, please! Pecker up a little, it's not so bad. You have us, me and Cheshire to keep you company, I know our current task is not exactly the height of glamour, but I'm sure if we work together we will reach the other side in a jiffy." said Alice unaware of Jack's affliction.

"Nooooo!" Replied Jack with aggression, catching his companions of guard "I'm telling you, something is happening to me" she slowly approached Alice and tried to support herself on the younger woman's frame, she missed a step and ended up falling on top of the maiden's lap.

Long mechanical arms descend upon Jack's containment unit, clutching it between cold, hard fingers and moving the platform down in the center of the room, proceeding then to release its cargo leaving Jack's slumbered form visible to all. The tattooed woman was restrained in a metal bed, unconscious, but not for long.

"Damn it what is happening to me?" Jack asked while she looked at her hands. She was starting to disappear; her body becoming transparent, leaving nothing but a silhouette. She wailed her arms frantically in desperation, her breathing increased and turned heavy. Alice tried her best to appease her.

"Jack! Calm down! Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I think you're just starting to wake up. I can tell the signs, I have been trough the same ordeal several times myself; you're…." whatever was that Alice was going to say was cut off by Jack yanking her from her chain, clutching Lizzie's room key tightly in her hand. That was the last thing she saw before being blinded by light.

"Is that Jack?" Garrus asked in disbelief, the ground team had certainly not expected that Jack would be a woman.

Jack opened her eyes in a heap, thrashing wildly with her restraints. Her mind was numb for the moment, she was moving solely by instincts and said instincts told her to break away. Struggling against her restraints until they were broken, she fell to the ground in a daze.

Quickly overcoming her disorientation and taking notice of her surroundings. Subject Zero finally managed to remember where she was. Panting a little, she asked herself what kind of strange dream did she just had? She felt something cold in her hand, so she opened her fist to reveal the key that Alice was wearing over her neck, uncertainty started to plague her. She started to think that maybe it was more than a dream after all.

Such thoughts would had to be left for later, because she was abruptly pulled out of her reverie by the sound of the heavy footsteps of 2 Ymir mechs lumbering at her position with weapons at the ready. Feeling the familiar tingling of her biotics in her spine; Subject Zero released an animalistic roar and pounced at the heavy mechs with fist raised. The most dangerous bitch in the entire universe was free and there would be hell to pay.

The Ymir's despite their size and weight, far superior to any organic where no match for jack's biotic charge connecting head on and were dragged into the wall, exploding into a thousand pieces.

"We have to get down there!" said Miranda with urgency.

"Damn it! C'mon people, on the double!" Beseeched the commander, he and his teammates headed downstairs at once; they missed the sight of two individuals coming from behind the platform where Jack's cell was dropped, heading in the direction of Jack's path of destruction.

_A couple of minutes before._

Alice head was spinning, overwhelmed by sudden disorientation. The last thing she remembered was tending Jack, when suddenly she grabbed her chain and she felt this intense pulling. Looking at her side, she found Cheshire struggling to get back on his feet while mumbling something under his breath. It seemed that the displacement hat taken its toll in him too.

"Ches! Are you alright?"

"Hmph" grumped back the cat while swaying his head "Yes Alice, I'm fine; though I must say I wasn't expecting this sudden development in our situation"

"Where's Jack?" she asked. Her answer was delivered by the sudden sound of a "RAAAAARRGHHH!" savage scream coming somewhere from behind her. The girl and her cat turned around in surprise at the direction of the scream. Their vision was blocked by a bulky contraption that looked like a big slab of metal. They quickly peered from a side and saw Jack enveloped in a thick purple aura, running and screaming madly towards a couple of gigantic mechanical automatons. These ones were nothing like the ones she had seen before in hatter's domain. Unlike Hatter's rickety, bulky and complex constructs; these ones were smooth and had a simple and minimalistic look all over. They looked strong and well built, not even the primmest inventions of the mad hatter could compare with the level of sophistication that these machines conveyed.

Sadly, she wasn't able to admire much more of these technological marvels because Jack was busy tearing them apart with her bare hands. They witnessed how Jack used these automatons to blow a hole in the wall.

SCREEEEECH!

KABOOOOM!

"Oh my! You know Alice, I always knew that our friend Jack had a penchant towards violence, but I never could have imagined that she would be this extreme. My admiration for her seems growing by the minute" commented the cat in joy, his smile ever present.

Alice could only blink at her current situation, her mind trying to comprehend what was going on. But whatever questions she may have would have to wait for later, for now she had to catch up on Jack.

"It doesn't matter right now, cat, we need to catch up on her. I have the feeling that it would be a bad idea to let her rampaging through the entire place unopposed" said the girl in a hurry.

The feline didn't require musing a lot in the matter before agreeing with her "Yes; I can see your point, with the way she's tearing everything apart, is more than likely that she would make this entire place collapse on top of our heads. That would be inconvenient… Very well Alice, let us go and find our oddly looking friend"

It was not hard for Alice and Cheshire to follow on jack's footsteps; they just had to follow the trail of destruction that she leaved behind. It made their task so very easy.

Alice had to say that she was a tad bit miffed by their new surroundings. Far long tunnels and semicircular hallways made of metal and glass. All of them either covered in darkness or bathed in an eerie crimson light that made the entire atmosphere look blood red. She was used to blood but not in this level of saturation, she grew tired of it real fast and the loud noise that deafened her ears was not helping at all.

Alarms were blaring loudly everywhere, she could not hear anything else but the awful noise; Cheshire too was feeling discomforted by them. Surprisingly for her, there were speakers becoming alive from time to time that managed to make their message clearly audible despite the chaotic cacophony of noise that permeated the place.

"All guards! Restore order, lethal force authorized, but don't kill Jack!" said one of them.

"Well it seems that the bollocks in charge of this place are finally mustering a response; they really know how to take their precious time with it I must say. Is a good thing to know that our friend Jack would be spared from their full wrath; can't say it is a good thing for us though." Shouted Cheshire as loud as he could in order to make himself heard over the noise, but one could be able to discern that he was less than impressed with the way things were handled in here. Another message blared right after his statement.

"Sectors seven, nine and eleven have lost life support. No survivors."

"Or anyone else for that matter." Quipped Alice back.

The duo arrived inside a large room with walkways at its sides and a suspended bridge connecting them in the middle. The sound of the alarms was diminished inside the room compared at how it was in the tunnels; it was a relief for them both. Because of it the 2 companions were able to hear a rather strong march of footsteps rapidly approaching at their direction.

Not being one to stay idle, Alice quickly hid herself behind some hedges, one of the many that were strewn around the room. Cheshire followed her lead a few seconds later. (1) Peeking inconspicuously from the sides in order to spy at whoever was about to come.

A moment later a door slid open at the end of the room, pouring a rather sizable amount of armed individuals inside the chamber. Alice didn't recognize them, they were wearing strange armor; it was rather smooth and seemed to enclose their forms well, fitting perfectly without complications, it didn't look as if it was cumbersome even though they were wearing a full set of body armor. Said armor was painted in an odd selection of color, blue and white being predominant. Their helmets were rather discomforting to see. They were entirely white in the front with two large lenses tinted in blue were the eyes should be. They were practically bare, with no distinguishing marks; they look more like a mouthless skull than a helmet.

These people had strange weapons too. Like many other things in this place, the weapons were smooth to the sight, but sleek and elegant in design. Even though the weapons had an alien look to her, Alice could tell that these people were wielding pistols and firearms, their shapes were evident enough. Oddly though; was the fact that not all these individuals had the same body structure? Some of them were taller, possessing long thin limbs and armor that was bulkier around the collar and chest area; their helmets were different too. They seemed to be made of pure glass at the front, were the face should be and at the back the helmet ended in a pointy tip.

But the strangest of all was the being that was barking orders –probably the leader- who wore no helmet. He looked human enough, at least in body form and size, but his face. His face was completely alien; his skin was gray-ashen in color, he had bulbous protrusions and bulges in his head and brow, and he had _4_ eyes, 4 eyes instead of 2. It was obvious to Alice that she was nowhere near London, if she hadn't realized it already.

This 4-eyed being had a luminous armor floating on top of the one he was wearing, which was the same as his peers –or subordinates in this case- This second armor glowed in a luminescent blue and look as if it was somewhat transparent. For some reason these people were not giving her the best of vibes. Alice didn't particularly like what they were doing or saying.

"Move on you worthless maggots. I want this entire place secured before Shepard comes this way, I want a warm welcome ready by the time he arrives and could somebody tell me; what the hell is taking so damn long with the Ymir? Move that useless bucket of bolts over here; now! It should make for a special surprise. That bastard would never know what hit him, by the time this is over we shall all be swimming in credits"

The armed men moved at their superior orders; they spread themselves through the room, entrenching themselves and setting weapons emplacements on elevated positions. Whoever this Shepard is, it would seem that these people had no love for him.

"Tell me Ches, Who do you think this Shepard person is?" Asked Alice to his feline companion.

"I ignore it" answered Chesire "But if he is a threat to these fellows whom Jack is trying to escape from, I believe then that it may be beneficial to our efforts if we somehow manage to find him and convince him to lend us a hand. After all the enemy of my enemy is my friend –or so they say- Not always is that statement true, but it might be in this particular case. But that should not be a concern at this moment, since it appears that we are going to have more pressing matters soon enough" he said motioning Alice to look behind her.

"FREZEE! Come out slowly and don't try any shit" Alice was caught off guard when she found one of these men aiming his strange weapon straight at her head; behind him there were other 2 doing the same, one of them being one of those with the bulky collar and long limbs. It seemed their little hiding place was not so effective after all. Without much choice she stepped out of her cover with her hands raised.

"The hell this little bitch is doing here?" asked one of the blue armored men "Doesn't look like one of the inmates to me. We have no female prisoners except for Jack"

"You think is one of Shepard's crew?" asked another, the alien one "And what the hell is that beast behind her?"

"Looks like a cat to me, that's an animal from earth. Though this one is sure a big ugly-ass son of a bitch" at this Cheshire growled his irritation showing how much he despised the comments of these individuals. Alice may have believed Cheshire's indignation to be funny, if their situation was not so serious.

"Oh? I think the kitty didn't like your comment" said the third one of their assailants.

The four eyed being that was in command had somehow overhead their conversation and started to bark his opinions to the group (2) "I couldn't care less if the little female has a Thresher Maw as pet, neither from what planet does it came from… mmph?" he grunted "the girl doesn't look like one of Shepard's crew; there were only other 2 of them. Must be an intruder and we don't like those around here. GRAB HER! And her little pet too" he ordered "for an intruder she's sure the little pretty thing. We could fetch a nice price for her, maybe I'll let you boys play a little with her once we deal with Shepard"

Alice didn't liked one bit the sound of that. Having lived for a great deal of her life in the marginalized side of society had given her a good look at the dangers and perversions of London's underworld. She could recognize people traders and slavers when she saw one and these people definitely fitted the bill of being ones.

Cheshire was of the same mentality; so the moment that one of the armored figures approached him with the intention of capturing him, he pulled out his claws. A spray of blood and a scream later and the blue armored thug was left lying on the floor with his throat slit and a pool of his blood forming around him.

The reaction of the rest of armored beings was immediate. They leveled their guns and started shooting at the 2 companions. Alice didn't waste any time and turned into butterflies, while in that form she closed the distance towards her aggressors. That leaved many astonished who had expected to make short work of the young woman with their guns. Said guns now proved to be useless as their bullets would simply pass along the butterflies without causing harm.

Alice rematerialized herself in front of one of the skull helmeted figures and delivered a series of attacks with her vorpal blade, flashes and trails of red with black edges sparkling with each swing. Despite his armor, the poor sod could not withstand the might of the mystical blade and soon enough he was sent sprawling to the ground. Deep indentations and lacerations carved on his flesh. Alice didn't spend a look to appreciate her handiwork and transported herself towards the next enemy.

She kept herself constantly in motion, swirling around in her butterflies form. Surrounding her enemies or moving between their lines; only attacking those she managed to isolate or were out in the open. Her actions proved effective into sowing confusion and made her attackers to waste their ammo by shooting at a target that was not tangible. This allowed Cheshire to move unseen, creping and phasing quietly and stealthily behind the enemies lines making good use of his claws.

"Enough of this!" Barked the four-eyed, gray-ashen skin alien who was apparently in charge "All of you idiots. Regroup on my position"

Alice immediately set her sights on him and trailed at his direction. The four-eyed opened fire at her in an effort to keep her at arm's length. He even used some amazing new type of bullets that she had never seen before. Ones that tended to set the area that they hit on fire, but despite this –and the use of some other handheld explosive devices- he didn't even managed to scratch her. That is, because the lack of mass of his objective made all his efforts futile.

When she got in close range Alice gave him a taste of her vorpal blade. She didn't expect that his glowing armor proved to be so effective in countering her attacks; flashing in conjunction with her slashes making them do little more than stagger her opponent.

The gray-skin chuckled "what's the matter girl? That puny knife of yours not enough to pass my shields?" he mocked.

Frowning lightly at her lack of results, Alice suddenly remembered that she might have a weapon that could tore through those shields. The thought made her smile wickedly, something that was not lost to her opponent. He suddenly started to have a bad felling about his current predicament.

"Well, if the first time doesn't work. Then maybe a change of approach is in order." she said before pulling out her hobby horse (3rd level mind you) and _bated_ the ugly being to the other side of the room.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!" He screamed before landing not to softly on a bunch of crates.

The gray-skin rose back on his with discomfort. Pulled a strange looking orange glowing device, that seemed to fizzle out of nowhere on his wrist and started to yell at it after letting out an expletive that is. "Damn it! C'mon you idiots, where is that fucking Ymir? I want it right here, right NOW!"

Suddenly great steps that made the floor tremble were heard. Alice and Cheshire almost missed a step due to such sudden development. Another door slid open and one of the big metal behemoths -that jack was fighting against- was revealed. It started to lumber slowly and heavily towards them. This monster of technology was not something they were keenly willing to fight.

Seeing their expressions the four eyes taunted "We were reserving this fellow as a surprise for Shepard and his team, but since you and your pet had proved such a nuisance, I've decided to use it before schedule. Pray to whatever good you believe in for the few minutes you have left before you die."

"Error. Target Acquisition Not Possible. Error" chimed the white colossus in a distorted voice

"WHAT?"

Alice didn't know exactly what happened but it was really amusing seeing the Four-eyed alien ranting over his faulty automaton. "Seems your little toy is in disagreement. Oh well! We will have to settle this in the old fashioned way then" she said.

The grey-skin didn't pay her attention. Instead he was screaming as mad and punching several buttons in his glowing device "C'mon you piece of crap! What's wrong with you? Oh I think I got it!"

"Safety protocols disengaged. Tracking and Eradication of any anomaly detected by system in progress. ALERT! Anomaly has been detected. Launching Missile"

And that's what the behemoth did. He shoots a missile at great speeds going straight to Alice. Almost as an afterthought the girl pulled out her umbrella to shield herself from damage. The would-be slavers laughed at her for believing that such accessory would parry a missile. They would be forcibly stunned when they saw her rebuking the projectile; granted, she was left spinning in a daze and almost did she lost her grip on her umbrella due to the strength behind the missile. But the fact remained; she had managed to deflect the attack. The missile was diverted and ended exploding in the face of a couple of unlucky bastards; that had forgotten to take cover for being staring.

All the while the behemoth seemed without notice of Alice's little stunt. He probably didn't care either way. He simply switched his weaponry and aimed at Alice once more.

Seeing she would get no respite; the young woman transformed into butterflies once more and dashed quickly behind a pile of crates that were at the end of the room for cover. She was unsure at how to proceed, the hobby horse seemed the best option to hurt that thing, but she suspected that it would probably take her a while to bring down the automaton. At her side, Cheshire materialized himself, so she addressed him.

"Hello Cat, Do you think we are going to be late for tea?" she asked

Cheshire at first said nothing, bracing himself from an explosion that impacted close to their location. That matter concluded he said "as much of an outrageous notion the idea that you would not have your tea is. I think it is best that we grit our teeth; for it seems this little scuffle is going to last a while"

"The hull has been breached in sectors 12, 14 and 30. No survivors"

"C'mon people, keep moving" ordered the commander among the clamor of claxons and alarms. The grounded was still on its way, fighting through all purgatory in search of Jack. It had become a messy business with all the guards, prisoners and mechs that were fighting and dying all around. The sounds of battle mingling with the already deafening cacophony of noises that's being going on since the riot started. Despite this impediments, the group had managed to move on ever forward.

They reached another chamber. One that was wide with walkways on the sides that connected on a suspended bridge in the middle of the room, leaving those in the ground floor precariously exposed. Not that Shepard and his team were able to see all this at first glance, since they had entered through a side entrance in the bottom of the room. Their vision blocked by a wall.

So, they had to go around that wall. Just when they were doing it, they saw a blue sun flying right into an opposite wall on the side.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!" Was the mercenary scream, before he crashed with his head first and broke his neck.

"Damn! I guess we finally catch up with Jack" Said Garrus, voicing his thoughts.

"Seems like it. Ok team let's give her some assistance" said Shepard motioning his team to go forward with a hand sign.

When they finally rounded that wall none of them where ready for the sight that awaited them.

"Please guys, tell me you 2 are seeing what I'm seeing" asked Shepard incredulous.

"If you are seeing a young human female on a blue dress with an apron, fighting the blue suns and a Ymir with what looks like a giant hammer in the shape of a flaming beast and a huge animal –that I believe is a cat from the photos you've shown me of earth" with an abnormally big head and he's cutting people apart while teleporting around. Then yes Shepard, we are seeing the same as you" Garrus deadpanned on a dry tone.

"Ok. Glad I'm not hallucinating, now! Can somebody please explain me what the hell is going on? Miranda? Can you?" He glanced to the Raven haired beauty at his side. She offered no answer at first that was not blinking a couple of times.

"I can't really think of anything commander. I still don't believe that what I'm seeing is real and we just saw it happen in front of our own eyes" she said while swaying her dumbfounded head.

"Same here Shepard. Though I must say that for such a petite thing; that girl can pack quite the mean punch" Garrus statement was reinforced by another blue sun that was sent flying by a swing of the girl's flaming horse.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" this prompted Garrus to say.

"Commander, I know we came here for Jack but… Maybe this girl will be a useful acquisition for the team too, I mean, is quite obvious that she has a knack for this kind of thing" There was the sound of another loud impact and the screams of several blue suns.

"You can't be serious, do you?" Questioned Miranda who was clearly against that idea "Commander, I don't think it is a smart thing to do to be recruiting random people that we just met and of which we know nothing about. How do we know that she would not be a liability to the mission? How do we know that we can trust in her? Whoever she is and how did she got here in the first place? Because I don't think her to be a prisoner of purgatory. She doesn't look like one, so it strikes me as odd that she can deal with all these mercenaries with such ease. Makes me wonder what else can she do and if it will be a danger for the crew?"

"Easy Miranda" Said the commander trying to dissuade her suspicions "Whoever she is, she doesn't seems to hold any love for the blue suns, which makes her not an immediate threat to us. As for whom she is or how she got here? There will be plenty of time to ask questions _later_. We still have a mission to do and right now, I think she could be of great help to us into finding Jack. So I say we should lend her a hand; I can see she's having trouble in dealing with that Ymir".

Miranda sighed but complied "Very well, as you order commander"

"Alright team move out. Garrus, start picking targets. Miranda, use your overload on the Ymir Shields".

* * *

><p><em>Well I'm gonna cut it in here, not exactly where I had it intended but it really want to update this story now, I mean it's been 4 months since last chapter. It should not have taken me that long. But whatever, next chapter Alice vs Ymir they're really in such a stalemate this two. Alice can't be hurt easily by the Ymir, but she doesn't have the strength to topple such a potent machine.<em>

_Anyway, I hope to close the purgatory segment in the next chapter, after that I'm going to include a small chapter of her dabbling around the Normandy and its crew before sending her back to London (remember she's asleep). Oh yeah this story is going to span several timelines and dimensions at the same time. At least in the beginning before I stuck Alice for good with Shepard. She doesn't mind, says she likes better be in the far exiting future than in dull and boring London._

_That said, make sure to review you ingrates. I know you people are reading this, I have no reviews then I got no reason to be writing this. No feedback._

(1)_ You know all those conveniently placed covers that are thrown about everywhere in ME2._

(2) _Remember the build in communications that are integrated in the armor. Also I'm really going out of a limb in here and assume that all this morons had build in translators too._


	5. Nice making your acquaintance, commander

**Author's note:** Well here it is the next chapter in this story and surprise! It didn't take me 4 months to get this thing ready.

**Disclaimer:** Yes you know it, I know it, we all know it. All this stuff is copyrighted and belongs to somebody else, so SOPA and the rest of politicians and congressmen that are nagging about this stuff can go and suck it for all I care.

**Chapter 4: Nice making your acquaintance, Commander Shepard**

Alice was having trouble in bringing this monster of technology down. It appeared the behemoth had shields just as those of the 4 eyed alien. It made for the giant construct to shrug off her attacks with the hobby horse. The best she had managed to achieve so far was to stagger the thing for a few seconds before it started to shoot at her again.

The rest of the blue armored combatants were easy enough for her to strike aside, but still- it didn't help her in dealing with the white robotic Cyclops. Cheshire obviously was not attacking it. His claws would not fare better than her own attempts. So he focused on trying to keep the rest of their attackers away from her.

A good thing because she was starting to receive damage already; those slavers had taken cheap shots at her while she was busy pummeling the frame of the advanced machination -most of them which yielded little results- Now she felt her strength dwindle, she needed to rest, to regain her strength. It would be easier if her enemies would leave roses behind when dying, but alas they leaved nothing behind. Her weariness increased more and more every time she received a hit. At this rate she would be entering in hysteria soon enough. She just hoped that when it happened, that state of her mind would be enough to put down that behemoth.

Alice was pulled out of her musing when an electrical explosion struck the automaton head on. His shields glittered and popped. Her puzzlement rose even more when she saw bullet trails of those weapons of advance make, coming from behind her and impacting on the armored soldiers and behemoth.

The shoots were pretty accurate, bringing down enemies with a single bullet to the head or a small spray to the chest area. The automaton too had shoots impacting into him. They struck in his joints and in any circuitry that was exposed, causing him damage and releasing sparks from the affected areas. It would appear his shields were no more.

Alice turned around and saw those responsible for her sudden respite. They were 3 individuals in total. One was a raven haired woman dressed in a full body white and black suit that to snug and showed every curve of her body leaving nothing to the imagination. Dear Lord! Did any of the women of this place have any decency or modesty? She didn't know whether those vestments were an improvement over the ones that Jack wore or not. At least she was covered, though that didn't help much.

The other was even stranger to her. It was a creature; tall and avian looking, his skin looked tough and leathery. As if it was made of hard scales. His mouth appeared more like a beak and it had whiskers that opened and closed at the sides instead of cheeks. Half of his face was charred and burned; he had a metal plaque covering the side of his jaw and ear that were marred. He had also blue markings in his face that looked like paint and a strange device, like a shiny blue glass covering one of his eyes. His limbs were long and his chest cavity was big and bulky, just like some of the people she was fighting against, she suspected they must be of the same species. In his hands there was a long rifle of the same advanced design as the rest of the weaponry she had seen thus far.

But the one that gathered her attention the most was the leader. It was a man, a good looking one if she was to be honest, with strong jaw, chiseled features, clear blue eyes, slight rough beard; hair cut into a very short stubble. The man wore a total black armor with a red stripe on white trim that went through the full length of his right arm; from wrist to shoulder. Another unique mark was an engraved symbol of an N and a 7 on the left side of his chest, right above his heart. He wielded a big mean looking weapon that had a strange coloration between green and brown blots. It looked heavy and she was certain that it could do a lot of damage. The man exuded an aura of self-confidence and authority. It was hard not to take notice of him.

The 4 eyed being in charge of the blue skulled and glassed faces saw the man and bellowed a shout to his minions "It's Shepard! KILL HIM!" that was the last thing he said before the man, Shepard, gunned him down. All that was required was a small burst from his weapon. The first 3 shots took down his shields and the 4th splattered his brains onto a nearby container –this leaved Alice a little bewildered and irked at the same time, due to the fact of all the trouble those shields had caused her, how she wasn't able to break them after so much effort and then this newcomer arriving and taking care of it with such ease- **(1)**

His other 2 companions had already engaged what was left of the blue armored soldiers and were making short work of them. Alice couldn't stop from staring and voiced "Excuse me! But would you mind telling me who are you people?" just before she heard a click noise behind her and a mechanical voice saying " Target Acquired" before she was sent flying through the air thanks to getting her mouth full of missile. Foolish of her for being distracted during combat.

The Normandy team paused incredulous at what they just witnessed. The girl that they just tried to help was hammered by a missile right in front of their faces. There was a pang of regret inside Shepard. That girl, whoever she was, was too young to have died like this.

But before Shepard had more time to be brought low by pity, a loud ear-piercing scream detonated suddenly through the entire chamber and a horrible sense of dread gnawed at everyone insides. All their surroundings, reality itself shifted and changed. Everything lost its colors and all that was left was nothing but shades of black and white.

It was the girl. She had got back up again despite receiving a full blown missile impact head-on. But she was different than before, her colors just as the rest of the environment were lost, she was now in only a completely white hue and her eyes were shrouded in a total and unnatural blackness. They look more like two pieces of ebony rather than eyes. She also looked as if she had cried, there where trails of liquid running down her eyes until overflowing her cheeks; only, it didn't look as if she had cried tears. The liquid was of a strong crimson coloration –the only color that was visible in the now colorless world- he was certain that it was blood. She had cried blood! That was most disturbing.

The girl screamed again in her shrill voice leaving them almost deaf, she pounced and disappeared in a puff of black butterflies and flew quickly to the last bunch of blue suns that were still standing. Before completely rematerializing herself, she was already slashing at the mercenaries with her knife. All of them were cut down almost immediately. Their armor useless against her attacks; Blood poured and splattered at every direction. Each swing brought a mercenary demise… and she was so damn fast, they didn't even had time to scream. It took less than 5 seconds for the rest of the blue suns to die.

Now all that was left was the Ymir and the girl knew it too. She released a deranged grin the moment she laid her eyes upon the mech. The Mech in question of course, was clueless or simply his processing systems were too rudimentary to allow him to understand the kind of dangerous situation he was dealing with.

Regardless; the Ymir aimed his chain-gun back on the girl and opened fire. It was a futile effort. The bullets did her no harm; they ricocheted from her skin instead, like pebbles tossed at the face of a mountain. The girl laughed in a terrifying tone that gave them the chills and turned into butterflies again. She closed the distance with the Ymir on a blink and laid a devastating blow on the machine with her flaming horse hammer thingy? She straightened the Ymir upright with just that single hit. Damn; talking about massive headaches.

The girl kept up with her onslaught. Each hit staggered and drove the Ymir backwards. With his shields gone –thanks to the intervention of Shepard's team- all that was left protecting the technological monster was his thick armor and that it seemed was almost not enough.

The girl really hit hard; sometimes she managed to bend or buckle sections of the Ymir carapace. His rocket arm was now useless, crushed and broken underneath the girl's horse hammer. There were sparks and groans of protest from the Ymir's joints and mechanisms; he had been turn from a walking killing machine into walking junk in a record time.

Shepard was impressed; never he would had expected to see someone –less of all a young girl- to beat a giant war-droid to dead with pure melee… well, except for a Krogan or a biotic like Jack that is.

Another blow; the Ymir was now in his last throes, reeling on his feet due to the strain. The commander suspected that the next blow would be the coup de grace. Sadly; he would have to be mildly disappointed.

Whatever it was that was giving the girl her strength; it seemed that its time had run out. The girl fell to her knees panting and the strange mumbo jumbo she had done to the environment was starting to fade. The colors returned and their sights cleared. The girl too got back her colors and her tears of blood disappeared.

The Ymir despite his severe damage was not about to stop in his relentless pursuit to destroy his target. By rerouting power, engaging emergency subroutines and switching to redundant systems. The white behemoth struggled to remain online. With great difficulty the mech leveled his chain-gun on the prone form of the girl. Clearly he was going to take advantage of the sudden weakness of his opponent; but Shepard was not about to allow that.

Like a bolt of lightning, the commander put a burst of high velocity rounds in the optical sensor of the Ymir; blowing it to pieces. A high-pitched sound was suddenly heard coming from the now headless form of the mech; its intensity rising with each passing second.

Knowing full well what was about to happen; the commander bolted towards the girl and scooped her in his arms before running the hell away from the Ymir. He received a small set of protests from the girl in his arms; obviously she didn't like the way he was holding her. But there was no time to pay her any attention; he was more focused right now in putting enough distance between them and the soon to explode robot.

With no time left. The former spectre slide behind cover, getting in exchange a small grunt of discomfort from the girl; she was at the verge of spewing another tantrum at him but the commander silenced her by pushing her down to the floor not too gently "Get Down!" he said to her. He then covered the girl with his frame, using his own body to protect her from the oncoming blast.

Not a moment too late. As the Ymir exploded in an immense ball of flame; Slag and molten scrap were sent flying everywhere- hazardous to anyone if caught in the open. The commander felt a ringing sensation inside his ear while the girl looked dazed from the blast, both of them side effects for not getting enough distance away from the blast-zone.

After a few moments to recompose themselves; Shepard was startled when he heard a strange, soft and husky voice addressing him from behind. "I appreciate your assistance, especially for preserving Alice from harm. She can be a little reckless at times and tends to forget that despite her aptitudes, she is by far not invincible"

"Don't bother me cat" replied the girl –Alice, with weariness.

Shepard looked at his side and found the strange looking cat staring right back at him; smiling with an impossible wide grin. Did the cat just spoke? Shepard was astounded, he warily replied.

"Huh?... sure, no problem"

The cat beamed his smile even more, if that was possible. Creepy, Shepard thought.

"Forgive me if I'm being too forward. But I'd presume that you must be this _Shepard_whom these pesky fellows mentioned in stride." Said the feline.

The commander was stupefied and confused. No way was he having a conversation with a cat right now. He could barely replied back in an awkward manner.

"Ummm… Yeah! Sure. That would be me"

"hmmm" the cat purred "You do have quite the imposing presence, dazzling looks; strong and firm without being ill-graced. Ah! Yes, I can see why the blue dolts conversed about you often enough. You are indeed someone worthy of note"

Before shepard could reply, Garrus and Miranda came and approached him. They were nothing short to bewildered, their eyes never stopping from looking at the cat. It was the turian that expressed the general sentiment.

"Shepard? What the hell?"

Chesire found himself puzzled. Neither he nor Alice could understand what the avian creature had just said. The creature in question looked obviously distressed by his presence. Well he supposed that regular people were not accustomed to the sight of a talking cat, but nonetheless, it would be less bothersome if all the people involved were able to understand each other.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid to be unable to understand what your distinctive friend is saying. Perhaps it would be best to find a better mean for proper communication, lest we start to misinterpret each other intentions" said the feline not losing his demeanor. It made for his listeners to raise their eyebrows while hearing him.

What, no translators? But seeing as how he was speaking with a talking cat, Shepard believed there was nothing strange with that. Miranda however was desperately trying to make sense of the current situation.

"Who are you 2? And why do you speak? That's not possible" She bluntly asked while pointing at the smiling cat.

"Forgive my companion lack of manners" Said Alice already up and about. She was busy dusting her dress off. "He tends to get so full of himself quite often"

Alice made a curtsey and introduced herself as she was taught. "My name is Alice Liddell; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I thank all of you for assisting me in toppling that monstrosity down although I would had prefer a little more of a gentle touch from your part"

Miranda was surprised by the formality of the greeting. So much that she raised an eyebrow in inquisitiveness. The commander too was surprised but in a pleasant and amused manner. "That is the most civil greeting that I have received… Ever" he said with a smirk gracing at his lips.

Having been taught about proper mannerisms too, Miranda returned the gesture "Likewise; my name is Miranda Lawson. Cerberus Operative, Shepard's Second in command and executive officer of the Normandy" she stated.

Realizing that a normal greeting would not do; the commander decided to play along and performed a small bow "Commander John Shepard, former N7 Alliance special forces operative, former spectre and current commanding officer of the Normandy. It's a pleasure to meet you too" he said.

Garrus too mimicked Shepard in his greeting and said his due. But all that Alice and Cheshire heard were a series of foreign squeaks and grunts. Their confusion must have been quite evident for Shepard interjected in his friend behalf.

"This is Garrus Vakarian. Former C-Sec officer, former Vigilante and current gunnery officer of the Normandy"

"Nice to meet you all" replied Alice "But. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with any of your titles"

Now that was certainly a surprise for Shepard and his team. The commander and those who have worked alongside him were all well known around the galaxy, almost like celebrities. The fact that this girl showed no recognition or familiarity at their names made them wonder if she hasn't been living under a rock or something.

"But I would like to delve more in that regard on a later moment for I believe we still have not finished with the introductions" Dismissed Alice and gestured for Cheshire to speak.

The lanky cat made a reverence and introduced himself "My name is Cheshire. I'm just a cat as you can see. It's a pleasure, indeed."

Miranda was the first to be struck by recognition at the mention of his name "Wait a minute! Cheshire? THE Cheshire Cat?... But that would make you" She pointed at Alice "Alice? Alice from Wonderland?" she asked in disbelief.

Alice found her statement mildly odd "You know about me? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if I were still in my wonderland where everybody knows of me. But this is clearly not my wonderland that much I can tell. And what do you mean that I am from wonderland? Although is true that I was previously in wonderland before arriving in this place, I certainly do not hail from there. That would be awkward since wonderland is a place that exists only inside my head. And I'm pretty sure that someone cannot originate from inside its own head; at least not as far as I know. So I must stress that the place of my birth and by extension the place of my provenance is Oxford, England. But I've been living for the last 10 years in London. Well, I was committed for most of that time inside the Asylum, but I've been a free woman for the past year"

"Hold it!" interrupted Shepard to address his second in command "Miranda, are you saying that she is that Alice character from that child's book" he asked in an expression that bordered between highly incredulous and gob-smacked.

"So you've read my book too? That's good to know. Is a nice surprise to see it has become quite popular? Jack mentioned that she had read it too. Oh! Mister Dodgson would be so happy to know that the book he wrote about me managed to succeed" said Alice with a smile.

"Wait. You know Jack? How?" asked Shepard wondering how that was possible.

"She got lost wandering inside my wonderland before stumbling with me and Ches. She agreed to travel with us for a while. Can't say it was one of my most preferable experiences, but it was interesting to be around her company despite her misdemeanors and moody character. She spoke of such curious things; like chill pills that make people calm and she also made mention of this place" Said Alice appraising her surroundings to compare them with Jack's description of the place.

Shepard was befuddled by that answer; he couldn't help but look at Alice oddly. He snapped out of his stupor and continued questioning the young girl. "Wait who's this Mister Dodgson you speak about? I thought Alice in wonderland had been written by Lewis Carroll?"

"Lewis Carroll?" Said Alice in thought "I believe I had heard that name before, but I can't remember quite well. You'll have to excuse me, until recently someone tried to erase my memories and attempted to make me forgret my own identity. I had to put my mind back together and collect my lost memories. So I apologize if it takes me awhile to remember things" she explained to the commander and his team, which only caused them to be even more perplexed.

"indeed" Cheshire said in that tone of his that makes one suspect that he knows more than what he's letting on; he addressed Alice " You know. That name just makes me remember a riddle, tell me Alice. How can a man be two people at once and yet not at the same time?"

Alice pondered the answer for less than a second before replying. "By changing his identity, Oh wait! Now I remember. Isn't that the name that Mister Dodgson liked to call himself when writing one of his stories? "

Miranda quickly interjected "Yes that's true. Alice adventures in wonderland or Alice in wonderland for short, is an old and very popular book –especially among the children and youngsters- that was written and first published in 1865 by Charles Ludwig Dodgson, also known as Lewis Carroll" **(2)**

Cheshire chuckled amused "He certainly was fond of his writing." He turned his head towards Alice "You do remember how enticed about you he was? You were such a recurring subject of his fantasies, if I remember correctly. It seems his works became quite notorious, after all. I hadn't realized that you had become a celebrity of such renown, Alice. This is indeed a step up from featuring in the local headlines" He said goading the young woman.

"Ok, I'm going to ask you to stop right there." interrupted Shepard not knowing how to digest all this weirdness "If she is the Alice of the book; isn't she supposed to be blonde with blue eyes? Not raven haired with green eyes"

"Well my hair is not really raven. Is just a very strong shade of brown" said the British girl stroking her hair caringly; feeling a tad bit indignant **(3)**

"Actually commander" spoke Miranda getting between the 2 "The fact that she doesn't look like the Alice of the book helps her more in her claim that she is indeed the real Alice" stated the Cerberus Operative scarcely believing herself that all she was seeing was true, but then again it was impossible not to take notice of the big smiling talking cat standing just a few paces from her.

"Really? How so?"

"It is well know that Charles Ludwig Dodgson a.k.a. Lewis Carroll" Miranda started to explain "took his inspiration to write Alice in Wonderland from a real person named… **!** … Alice Liddell? A girl of dark brown hair and green eyes" Miranda was awestruck. This bizarre occurrence was beyond anything she had ever trained or taught to expect as Cerberus Operative.

"What? How- How do you know that?" inquired Shepard with a slight tremble in his voice. This is impossible, his mind all but screamed.

"There are many biographies and books that delve about the life of Charles Dodgson, Shepard. All of them agree about the importance of Alice Liddell for Dodgson's works. There also exists a lot of documented photographic material about the real Alice that Dodgson took of her."**(4)** Miranda said quickly trying to recall such photographs. She was still triyng to find an explanation of how any of this was not real.

"Ah yes! Mister Dodgson passion for photography" Said Alice in regard of that issue "That was an avocation that he and my father had in common" she flinched a little when she remembered how that pastime had allowed for the fire that had destroyed her life to start. The commander took notice of it and deducted that there was more to it about that subject.

But he had no time to press the matter further; he was a thought short of a stroke after all. He shook his head while massaging his temple "You know; Normally, I wouldn't believe anything of what you two are saying as truth. But then again there is a giant talking cat right in front of me and I can't find a reasonable explanation to that. So I guess I should give you the benefit of doubt –God knows how much I would like that others would do the same for me- Whatever; it doesn't matter anyway. Listen! You two obviously know how to handle yourselves pretty well during a fight and I'm willing to bet that you two want to reach Jack as much as we do before something bad happens. So how about if you two join my team and help go after Jack?" he asked

"Actually Ches and I had already discussed that maybe it we should to try and meet with you. We thought it would be a good idea after hearing from those ill-mannered brutes in blue how much a thorn in their sides you were" Said Alice in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So you figured the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Fair enough. Welcome to my team Alice Liddell" Shepard welcomed her before offering his hand to Alice for a handshake. She stared at the offered hand in thought for a few seconds before accepting the handshake.

"Is not often that I tend to enjoy the presence of others during this kind of endeavors. I think this will promise for an exciting enterprise" said the young girl smiling at the commander who returned her smile.

"First of all you would need translators in order to understand what other species are saying. Normally the translators would be installed on an individual trough special surgery, but we don't have, neither the time nor the medical installations for that sort of thing. Luckily I always carry a couple of portable translators with me at all times in case of first contacts situations or malfunctions" Shepard handed the devices to the 2 newest additions to the team. Alice thought them to be such a curious gimmicks "You have to put this inside your ear. Here, let me help you"

Shepard placed the small device inside Alice ear and activated it. Cheshire witnessed the whole procedure and mimicked each step perfectly. "There, that should take care of our language barriers" he declared and then addressed back to Garrus and Miranda. "I take it there would be no objections, right?"

"None commander" answered Garrus, this time Alice could clearly understand what he was saying. She was marveled by the little piece of technology inside her ear "I must say, I'm going to love seeing the blue suns getting their asses kick by a little human girl. It would be so much fun to watch." he said between chuckles.

"I'm starting to like your spirit already mister Vakarian" Said Cheshire beaming his smile at the Turian.

Miranda however did not approve "Can I have a few words with you commander, in private!" She all but ordered and signaled him to follow her a few feet away from the others. Shepard complied with her request and followed her.

Once they were relatively alone she snapped at Shepard in shushed tones "Shepard! What do you think you're doing? You can't possibly tell me that you believe her story. I mean she's obviously not quite well in the head if she's believes herself to be the Alice of wonderland; she's even admitted that she was in an Asylum until recently. I don't think it would be a good idea to bring such an unstable person with us. That could be dangerous." She frantically warned him.

The commander tried to appease her "Believe Miranda, I know, I've had those same doubts myself. But tell me how can you explain the talking cat?"

Miranda really couldn't find an answer to that. "I don't know; Genetic experimentation maybe? But even if not; I'm still not comfortable with the idea of bringing that girl along with us."

"That maybe true" Shepard conceded "But did you see what she's able to do. She went toe to toe against an Ymir and almost won and that thing she did with the colors. That was creepy! Do you really want to leave such a powerful and dangerous person roaming freely around this station to her own devices instead of bringing her with us and keep an eye on her?" he calmly explained in a logic that leaved pretty few holes.

That actually made Miranda stop for a few seconds in thought "I see your point Commander and I have to admit it is something to seriously consider (sigh) Fine Shepard, we will bring her with us" The raven-haired beauty relented at last. "If this was any other situation, Shepard; I would not even consider it. But since this is clearly not something that tends to happen regularly, I have to compromise. And to be honest; I'm a little curious myself. After all, is not often to see that characters from your childhood are turning out to be real. I know we still have a mission to do commander, but I would really like for us to inquire further in this matter when we are all back inside the ship" She pleaded to Shepard.

"Very well Miranda, I promise we would look into the matter later. In the meantime let's go and find Jack."

They went back to the others and Shepard gave the order to move.

"Alright team! Let's Go"

_Well here it is the most recent instance of this story. I know I said that I wanted to close the Purgatory section by this chapter. But I was all giddy because of the reviews and that my mailbox is all saturated with alerts and e-mails of people who are labeling this story and yours truly as a favorite. I liked that a lot._

_Ok so it was a short one, but I think is very well written. I hope you like the battle with the Ymir, I really had to think in a way for that battle to work out well; hope it is acceptable. And keep feeding my ego with your reviews and I'll read ya' next time._

_(1) Ah, yes. The wonders of custom ammo; that and carrying a badass heavy battle rifle._

_(2) I've been checking dates and I discovered that while Alice was comatose inside the asylum, the novel Alice adventures in wonderland was first published. And since between the first and second there's only has been a span of a few months. I doubt Alice has managed to even heard, much less procure a copy of the novel. I don't think that a few meager years will be enough for the novel to become popular._

_(3) Remember in the first american mcgee's Alice, she had brown hair. in the second game it looks black but there are some scenes in London were i believe you can see its true coloration, also in the trailers of madness returns you can see her hair being brown. Anyway, same goes for Miranda. Remember the trailers of mass effect 2 were there are kind of interviewing/interrogating different members of the team one at a ti,e. Miranda appears with her hair brown. Don't know why it appears pitch-black in the actual game, must be a technical issue with the unreal engine._

_(4) This one is true. There are indeed photos of the real Alice Liddell when she was a child. Look for them in the internet if you don't believe me._


	6. Fuck! Not you again

**Author's note: **Alright people, once again be ready for here is the next installment of this story.

Now, I need to address some issues first. I have received questions whether or not the weapons of the first game would appear in this fic. The answer is yes, I do want to include them. But I'm not considering for Alice to be the one to wield them since most of that equipment seems unnecessary compared with the one she already posses.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Everything is copyrighted.

**Chapter 5: Fuck! Not you Again.**

After another dash through the hallways and tunnels of the space station in their search for Subject Zero; Shepard alongside his team and his 2 newest additions gained access to another room. They were greeted by the sight of Warden Kuril shooting inmates from a vantage position with his M-76 Revenant sniper rifle.

The corrupted warden didn't take long to execute the unlucky inmates as if they where trash and addressed the commander in an irate tone "You are valuable Shepard" he said while cocking his gun "If I had sold you. I could have lived like a king, but you are too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack."

Alice was not pleased by that declaration. How this Alien –Turian as Garrus had told her what his species name was- had planned to enslave and sold her new found allies. It made her mad –not pun intended, of course- She had issues with this sort of people, seeing as how she has suffered abuses from his kind of ruffian in the past. She has seen first-hand the type of horror that their actions entailed; Bumby being the most recent in her experience.

"Not happening" Answered Shepard back, clearly irked by the warden's actions "You are a 2-bit slave trader and I have no time for it"

"I do the hard thing that _civilized_ governments are unwilling to" Said Kuril justifying his actions "This is for the betterment of the galaxy"

"The betterment of the galaxy? What rubbish!" questioned Alice pretty livid in a loud tone. She was not amused by the warden's excuses. "It sounds more to me like it is for the betterment of your own pockets rather than anything else. I know your type; you are nothing more than a leech, a parasite that lives sucking the life out of other people. Dirt like you should not preach about what is the right thing to do."

The Commander and the rest of his teammates where rather impressed by such harsh speech coming from her. They approved alright and made their respect for her rise a little more. Who would have thought that Alice could be so fearsome when she wanted to be? Such a great difference from the image she gave of a well-mannered and behaved proper lady it was.

Warden Kuril didn't take kindly her little speech, though. How does this little female –whoever she is- dared to question his integrity. "I will be very pleased when I toss all of your corpses out of the airlock" he said before activating the console in front of him.

Alice saw several pole structures of some kind, rising from the metallic floor. They where 3 in total, each one in a different location; but aligned around the place where the corrupted warden was spewing his threats. The poles then started to light up, becoming into pillars of light while at the same time releasing blinding quantities of electricity.

The energy rose and lashed at Kuril's direction, but it didn't harm him as one would have expected. Instead, the arcs of lighting joined together and formed a protective bubble around the warden. More shields, Alice thought in annoyance.

Shepard, unimpressed leveled out his Mattock and fired at a nearby pylon that was practically in front of them. The shield generator could only resist the powerful barrage for a couple of seconds before flickering and shutting off. It seemed pretty obvious what their objectives would be.

Although it was not going to be that easy, doors opened and blue suns poured inside the room; weapons at the blaze. The ground team sprinted to cover, all except Alice, who used her umbrella to deflect the enemy fire. She was feeling really comfortable in her position at the back of the team and didn't felt the need to rush ahead –Cheeky little thing innit- she took a moment to survey her surroundings.

The young woman saw Shepard giving orders and laying a course of action for his companions. Garrus was focused in his search of targets, scoping around with his rifle. He tended to put a bullet in the middle of the head of anyone stupid enough to be out of cover. Miranda on the other hand, was spraying bullets wherever the blue suns numbers where thick to pin them down. Then she used her strange –but really flashy- powers of hers. Biotics, Shepard had called them, and wrought havoc among the enemy formations. She even saw Cheshire complying with the orders that were given to him, such orders entailed performing his little disappearance act and reappearing behind enemies lines bearing his claws. That resulted in several blue suns dead before Chesire and the rest leaving their covers in surprise making them easy pickings for the others.

Alice was impressed. She could really appreciate the great leadership skills of Shepard. It was remarkable how he could maintain the cohesion of the entire group while in the middle of battle, shaping them into a very lethal and effective force. Deciding to throw her own lot and do her part for the team, Alice phased to butterflies form and into a nearby cover. She pulled out her teapot cannon and proceeded to charge the oversized silverware.

A loud hiss and a bubbling sound told her it had reached its maximum charge. Taking advantage of the fact that the mercenaries where not paying her much attention, she rose out of cover and aimed her cannon at one of the lighting pylons.

* * *

><p>The commander and his team where struggling to destroy the rest of the generators of the shield bubble protecting warden Kuril. The blue suns had entrenched themselves well, maintaining defensive positions around the remaining generators, impeding the Normandy ground team from destroying them. Shepard was starting to become frustrated.<p>

Suddenly he heard a metallic "_POP"_ and saw what appeared to be a giant blob of a steaming black-greenish substance flying through the air directly over where the blue suns were entrenched. The blob impacted the shield generator head-on and as result the pylon winked out of existence. The splash of the collision drenched all nearby mercenaries with the dark-hued liquid, they howled in pain and frenzy as the steaming hot substance melted their armors and cook them inside of their own suits. Kinetic barriers proved useless as they were not activated by the low speed of the spilled liquid particles.

Screaming desperately, the blue suns pulled out of cover as the strange substance was burning them horribly through their armor. They were easy pickings for the ground team, which quickly put them out of their misery.

Shepard and his companions were baffled at what had just occurred. Having a hunch of who was responsible for this, the commander turned at the direction where the blob had came from and saw Alice at a distance grinning and waving at them with one hand, while in the other she was holding what seemed like a freaking gigantic teapot. Didn't take a genius to guess what had happen, which in turn leaved them perplexed when they realized that the blue suns had been burned to dead with nothing but hot tea. What a weird and lame way to die.

In any case, there was just one remaining shield generator to go. The squad redoubled his efforts and assaulted the last pylon. Alice, her teapot cannon still good for another shoot before overheating, launched another attack from her position. She was too much out of range to hit the last generator, but not enough to prevent her from reaching the mercenaries that were guarding it.

These blue suns, having already witnessed the results of her previous attack, wisely scrambled into any direction to avoid being burned alive; too bad for them that the rest of the ground team were already laying in wait at the ready. Alice made a brief dash to close distance and changed her weaponry for the pepper grinder. She downed an enemy before forcing some others into cover. She kept in mind to use small bursts to avoid her weapon from overheating.

The rest of the ground team joined their fire with Alice's own. Shepard didn't bother to question why her weapon looked like a flaming hog or why it seemed to function like one of those ancient multi-barreled machineguns of the 19th century, he preferred to focus solely in dealing with the blue suns.

The former spectre ordered the employ of a basic pincers maneuver. Alice shooting at the enemy from one side, while he and Miranda engaged from the other, Garrus in the back to deal with anyone that dared to raise his pretty head out of cover and Cheshire well, he just kept with what he was doing already.

Being under fire from both flanks while under the sights of a sniper laying in wait and at the same time having to deal with an intangible enemy that was slipping through their ranks, no wonder the blue suns didn't last long before the last one of them hit the ground. This gave Shepard a free pass to deal with the last generator at his leisure, it soon went boom.

Not even a second passed after the protective bubble disappeared before warden Kuril tried to put a bullet in the commander's head. Only his high senses honed by experience were the only thing that saved him. Ducking out of reflex, he felt the whoosh of the bullet passing where his head used to be less than a moment ago.

"Miranda, Garrus! Overload his Shields. Cheshire get ready to use your claws after he's struck" ordered the former spectre.

Following the commander's instructions, the ground team members released their combined assault of electrical discharges that hit Kuril simultaneously, overloading his personal shields. After that, several Hyper-velocity rounds traced at his direction and dissipated what was left of his weathered barriers forcing the corrupt warden into cover.

Taking that as his cue, Cheshire form vanished on thin air and materialized from behind the blue suns officer. The feline then plunged his claws with glee, deeply between the shoulder joints of his armor. Releasing a cry of pain, the Warden turned and rammed the butt of his weapon in the middle of the cat's smiling face in retaliation. The impact did nothing to erase the jaunty smile of Cheshire from his face. He found such effort amusing and laughed at the warden in a very debonair fashion, which proved to be quite disturbing to anyone who saw him.

Blood dripped from Cheshire's claws and stained the floor in a deep blue. Desperation started to seep inside Kuril's mind. He tried to get back on his feet the best he could, using the rail as support. Anxiously, he leveled his rifle, aiming it at the mangy beast that was busy licking the blood from his paws while chuckling to himself with perversion. This terrified the Warden to no end.

Before he was able to pull the trigger, however, an explosion of gore sprouted from the middle of Kuril's chest. Glancing behind him, the best he could in disbelief. The turian saw Shepard with an M-92 Mantis in his hands, smoking from the barrel. A stiffed grunt was all that was able to escape from Kuril's throat before he felled head first over the railing; for all intents and purposes, dead.

"Well that was lovely, seems we have taken care of all opposition. Too bad; I was starting to enjoy myself" purred Cheshire, very pleased with himself, still licking the blood off of his paws.

"Get back down here already, Ches! We have no time for your contemplations" Exclaimed Alice, priming her dress.

Cheshire chuckled at Alice in a condescending way "Please Alice! Allow me a few moments to indulge myself. It's not often for me to participate in this kind of activities. It's usually you, who has to deal with all this whipping and fuss. I am unaccustomed to such labor" said the cat nonchalantly, more focused in his nail (claw) care.

"Yes, I've always been astounded to no limit at your inability to help me in fending off even the most low of oppositions; that said, it is utterly mind-bogling this sudden contrasting disposition of yours" quipped back the young lady, making fun of him.

Before anymore snarky comments could be made, Shepard stepped between them "Good job team, that's the last thing we are going to hear from that would-be slaver. Let's go, we still have to catch up with Jack" he said, leaving no more room for comments.

* * *

><p>Jack had finally reached the docking bay of purgatory, after carving her own path through the entire station. Leaving a trail of death and destruction behind her, all that stood now between her and her freedom where the 2 blue suns mercenaries in front of her. She would have no consideration for their welfare.<p>

Rushing them at her top speed, she didn't heed their demands to surrender. Raising the first off-ground with her biotics, she delivered a biotic enhanced punch that sent the unlucky bastard smashing into the viewport, craking the plexi-glass. She whipped around and dealt with the other one with a biotic throw, sending him collapsing into a wall.

Having dealt with the obstacles in her way, Jack diverted her efforts in the search for a vessel in which to leave the station. The only one currently anchored in the prison ship was one named Normandy. Giving it an analytical look, she took notice of the Cerberus logo displayed in the ship's nose. Jack erupted in a terrible fit of rage the second she saw it, lashing out on the empty air. She had no love for that organization, only a deep hate after all the crap they did to her during her childhood.

She was too absentminded to deal with the batarian mercenary that appeared brandishing a weapon. Before she could take care of him, a shot reverberated through the hall, putting an end to the alien's life. She turned backward to face the shooter and saw Commander Shepard holstering his gun.

"What the hell do you want?" the bald woman demanded.

"Hey! I've just saved your life" replied back the commander.

"He was already dead; he just didn't know it yet" Jack answered back cheekily "Now, what the hell do you want?" In that moment Cheshire thought good idea to perform his little teleportation act and appeared right in front of her.

"Well then" he said "It's good to know you're still as feisty as ever, my esteemed Jack"

"**!**"

"What?... You?... Then?" Jack was really flabbergasted to see the emaciated cat again. She looked at her surroundings frantically until she spotted Alice behind Miranda and Garrus, waving at her happily.

"Youuuuuuuuuu!" She exclaimed pointing at the younger woman "What the fuck are you 2 doing in here?" she asked with such gentleness.

"Following you of course" replied back Alice "You had us a little worried after you collapsed and yanked me from my necklace. Obviously, none of us expected that we would appear in this unpleasant metal fortress only to be attacked by massive automatons and rude foul-mouthed mercenaries and would be slavers, but as they say if you can't fight the current, better go with the flow. Besides, you took something precious from me and I'm quite adamant in having it back"

Jack scratched her head, still a little shocked for seeing Alice again in such a short time. She had tried to convince herself that she had been just part of a bad dream, but now, now she didn't know what to believe. "You're speaking about this key, don't you?" she said knowing full well what she was hinting and displaying the little piece of metal in the palm of his hand.

"Yes that is the one" confirmed the English maiden jumping with elation "can I have it back, please? It may not look as much, but it has a great deal of sentimental value for me" she pleaded.

But before they could going forward with their exchange, the commander interrupted them with a cough "I don't want to seem rude, Alice. But I really need to speak with Jack about something important. Can I ask you to hold whatever business that you have with her for after I'm done?"

"Oh? Well sure, I suppose that it can wait a little longer. But I will demand for no more interruptions from keeping me to carry on with my conversation with Jack, later on" she announced with finality. The commander just gave her an acknowledgment in stride, more focused in addressing Jack than complying with Alice. The girl felt a tad irked at him for that.

"Who the fuck are you? Why are you interrupting us?" questioned very bluntly the biotic woman, not appreciating the sudden intrusion.

"Easy" said Shepard trying to placate the convict by assuming a non-threatening stance; he raised his hands as to show her that he wasn't going to try anything. "I didn't come here to fight. Just wish to have a little civil talk with you"

"Damn, you sound like a pussy" commented the tattooed woman back to that.

"I resent that comment" Spoke Cheshire feeling insulted. Alice though was trying to stifle a laugh.

"Whatever" answered jack back to him, showing how much she cared; she addressed the commander yet again "What's your business here anyway?"

"I'm recruiting people for a dangerous mission. The best and the brightest and the toughest and the meanest; you fit the latter with a **T**"

Jack didn't buy that for a second, knowing full well how Cerberus was not to be trusted. "I'm not going anywhere with you, you're Cerberus" she said refusing the former spectre.

Jack mistrust -though understandable and even smart of her for having a healthy dose of it- was starting to get on Shepard's nerves, Irritation seeping on his voice. "I'm offering you to be your friend, you don't want to be my enemy" he stated with a bit of threatening intention.

"They have a tendency to die" mentioned Garrus.

"Oh? That is charming" said Cheshire with jolliness, smiling as usual.

"Excuse me, but I have a question!" interrupted Alice in need for clarification "What does the guardian dog of Hades has to do with any of this?" she asked.

"Cerberus is a terrorist organization that screws with people lives" answered Jack glaring daggers at Shepard and his team "They're nothing but a bunch of crazy mean bastards and criminals. I should know, they fucked me real good during my childhood"

Alice was scandalized by that declaration. She probably was taking all that Jack was saying with too much face value, if her expression was any indication. Miranda had to step in to try and save face for her organization. "It's nothing like that. Cerberus is an organization dedicated to the safeguard of human interests and promoting humanity standing in the galaxy. It's true that sometimes we take actions that are considered to be too harsh and morally questionable. But is all for the betterment of mankind. We're just trying to do our best to preserve humanity"

"Speaking like a true Cerberus cheerleader" rebuked Jack mockingly.

"Enough about Cerberus" ordered Shepard not in the mood for another confrontation "Jack I know you have issues with Cerberus. I understand, believe me, I've seen what they are capable of. Having my fair share of run-ins with them in the past, but the mission I'm undertaking is way too important and they are the only ones willing to do what needs to be done. I don't like it, but I have no other choice and I need all the help I can get. That's why I need you in my team" he pleaded to the bald convict.

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?" questioned the biotic woman still unconvinced.

"Let's see. This ship is going down on flames, I've got the only way out, I'm offering to take you with me… and you're arguing?" hinted Shepard.

"I think the answer is yes" said Alice unable to resist from picking on Jack, before entering in a fit of giggles much too said woman chagrin. Composing herself the girl pressed on "C'mon Jack, you're being silly. Is not as if there is any other choice"

"We could just knock her out and take her" offered Miranda as an option.

"I'll like to see you try cheerleader" Jack threatened, assuming a battle stance.

"What kind of manner for asking for help is that?" questioned Alice, crossing her arms "I found it to be rather rude going around knocking people out, kidnapping them and then forcing them to lend you a hand. I don't recall the commander petitioning my aid in such way" she declared unimpressed.

"Nobody is going to try anything, alright?" interjected Shepard, putting an end to the argument.

"Smart" commented Jack approvingly "Look! If you want me to join your team, you'll have to do something for me first" she demanded.

"What is that?" asked the former Spectre.

"I bet your ship has lots of Cerberus databases" said Jack, gesturing at the Normandy through the viewport "I want to look on those files. See what Cerberus got on me. You want me on your team. Let me go through those databases"

Shepard found those terms agreeable. Not having any kind of trust in Cerberus, not even after bringing him back from the dead, he promptly accepted Jack's proposition.

"I'll give you full access" he said.

"Shepard! You are not authorized to do that" Complained Miranda, obviously against that idea.

Jack further mocked her "Oh? It upset the cheerleader. Even better." She focused her attention back to Shepard "you better be straight up to me" the commander gave her a nod of his head as an answer "Good! So why the hell are we standing here?"

Shepard lightly smirked and motioned to his team "move out"

Alice run pass all of them and made a beeline towards the viewport where the Normandy could be fully appreciated, Cheshire following her closely. It was a wondrous sight. The sleek and elegant design of the Normandy was like anything she had seen before, it made the ship to resemble one of those sea creatures –Dolphins she believed where called- that the sailors back home tend to tell stories about. And behind the Normandy the great and immeasurable expanse of stars, shinning in all its infinity, it made Alice to lose her breath.

"Jolly! Is that your ship commander? It's such a marvelous and amazing thing" she exclaimed with a smile, touching the glass, close enough as to almost bump her face with it. She was excited like a little children going at a circus for the first time.

"Yes it is" said the commander walking at her and standing at her side "Pretty neat, isn't it?"

"That she is, indeed. I never had dreamed into seeing something like this. Don't you agree Ches?" she asked to his furry companion.

The cat pondered for a second in his reply and then answered putting emphasis in each of his words "If this is still a dream Alice. I'm afraid is not one of yours"

* * *

><p><em>Well, there you have it. The latest chapter, hope you like it and all that. Btw there may be a little delay in the next chapter. The electricity in my house went out recently, causing a discharge and a lot of my house electro domestics overloaded. The Pc is out, so too my lap and a TV and DVD. I'm uploading this using my old man laptop, and he doesn't lend it quite often. So don't be surprised if I can't upload the next chapter before April.<em>

_I need to get my things fixed. Well is not so bad, at least it gives me time to play Mass Effect 3 when is released._

_Read you around, and don't forget to review._


	7. Welcome aboard

**Author's note:** Alright, here it is the next chapter already finished, Sorry it took me longer that I had expect it. As I had said my laptop was busted, is still busted. Couldn't write shit during March because of it, so I spent most of that month playing Mass Effect 3, doing a little research on the subject on my own. Yeah right…

Like most of all people I was disappointed by the crappy ending, how could our adventure after five years end like that? Hell no, I do not accept that crap. Like angry Joe said, I fucking expect they solve that shit with the June DLC. Because if I'm not satisfied I will fucking go with the indoctrination theory no matter what Bioware wants to put as canon. Fuck EA I say, so now you know if the Upcoming DLC is not of my liking you'll know the direction that this fic is going to take.

Good news is that I received a brand new PC for my room during the first week of April, so I've been working in this chapter the entire month. I must say I'm not all that ok with the result. I've been having trouble in this section, so I believe it may not be entirely of everybody liking. Truth is this is mostly crack, I was watching looney toons while I was writing this chapter. So it might explain why certain scenes would feel odd.

I have to put cracks in this fic, it is expected because of the mingling of 2 different franchises anyway. I promise future cracks would be better than this. And about the question that I been receiving about Alice's powers I'll give an explanation to that in the next chapter. Is hard to me to explain this sort of things in such small space right know; you'll have to read Neil Gaiman's Sandman to understand how people can affect other places or realities with their dreamselves.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to their respective owners by copyright.

**CHAPTER VI: WELCOME ABOARD**

Commander Shepard prided himself of being a patient, fair man who tried to deal with most situations with an open mind. After all, traversing the stars while trying to solve the problems of every single species out there, tended to expose someone to things that could had been considered unfathomable only a few decades ago.

But right now, inside the normandy's airlock, watching at how Alice was staring completely enthralled at the moving lights of the decontamination scanner, like she had never seen something like that before in her life, while the rest of the team was looking at her with varied expressions –Miranda perplexed, Garrus bemused, Jack with one that said _what the hell! _And Cheshire, well he did nothing but stand in the corner with that deranged smile of his ever present, he wasn't even blinking which was creepy- the commander really didn't know what to make out of this whole situation.

Oh my god, why do I have the feeling that I have inducted a little child into my crew. Was the thought that ran through shepard's head; the notion was… well? Not overly dreadful, but certainly not something to be thrilled about either. Too late to back down now though, damn if that girl Alice wasn't helpful to have at your side during a fight. He might as well try to enjoy the ride.

He decided to snap Alice out of her reverie. "Enjoying the pretty lights I see" he asked in a tease, the girl in question whirled around delighted at her surroundings.

"Very much commander" she replied excitedly "Never have I been in a ship that glows on the inside, is much more spectacular than the simpleton boat that the mock turtle used to sail. He has been really down on his luck lately you see. He used to run the wonderland express and was in charge for the locomotive to arrive on time at each station. Sadly; during the invasion of the Dollmaker he was removed from his position and had to take ownership of this very drab and rickety ship. He didn't last long in that post either though; I was in a hurry and had need of his freight services. The trip was… bumpy to say the least. Poor mock turtle was left with nothing but his shell and he has a tendency of losing that too when under duress" she stated with concern.

During all her tirade Shepard had tried really hard not to stare, he tossed a dumbfounded look to Miranda and mouthed what the hell was a mock turtle? She whispered back to him that it was a character from the book.

"I'm not quite sure what to respond to that?" said the commander at a loss to Alice "So how about if I tell you about the Normandy instead" he offered. That piqued Alice interest who forgot everything about the mock turtle and his problems immediately.

"Oh! Yes, by all means, do tell. I want to know more about this fascinating vessel, I still can't believe that it sails through the stars. It must be such a marvelous experience, visiting all those tiny little bright dots in the night-sky" she petitioned to him –more like pleaded- with childish excitement. She looked quite cute to be honest.

The commander chuckled at her excitement "Well they're not that little once you get close, some of them are even bigger than our Sun." he stated matter-of-fact.

"Really?" replied the young girl intrigued "I've always thought that they could only be as big as the moon. I am at a loss of words, really! All the things that I was taught to be true and not to question during my whole life are turning out to be false." She released a giggle "Is actually quite the gratifying feeling because I never liked them in the first place –She mused- but let us not stray out of subject. Please commander, tell me more about the Normandy"

"Very well" conceded the commander, trying not to get much befuddled by Alice's antics and peculiar behavior "The Normandy, used to be the most advanced stealth vessel of the entire Alliance navy. It can enter in the most critical situations without being spotted. Cutting edge technology, well it was cutting edge 2 years ago. This is the Normandy SR-2 a replacement for the original Normandy. A replica made by Cerberus, not a carbon copy though. They have added a lot of new stuff inside this new Normandy. Some of it may prove useful to our Mission"

"What happened to the original Normandy?" asked Alice curious.

Shepard released a sigh. It depressed him to remember how the Normandy was destroyed and how he had died and lost 2 years of his life without him noticing. Being dead and all that, Alice- the rest of the team did not miss the commander's expression.

"It was destroyed." He finally said.

"uh?" was all that the young could replied back, she hadn't expected that kind of answer "How? What happened?" she pressed with alarm.

The commander began to tell the story of the first Normandy destruction, a sour mood started to invade on his demeanor. He released a sigh. "We were ambushed by an enemy know as the collectors. Somehow they manage to detect us despite our stealth systems being active".

Alice didn't knew synch about what a stealth systems was, her doubt was reflected on her perplexed expression which made the commander to mentally slap himself for forgetting that she was not from around here.

"Is the special invention that allows the ship to move without being detected by the enemy" he quickly explained.

"Ah!" now Alice understood.

"Anyhow" the commander said getting back on track "We were attacked by a collector's ship, its weapons were like nothing we had faced before –that was a lie. Sovereign had displayed similar weaponry during the siege of the Citadel. But he didn't voice that out loud. It would only confuse Alice even more- We lost a lot of good people that day" he stated solemnly while whispering in his mind –myself included-.

"I'm sorry for having made you remember such terrible ordeal commander. It was not my intention" said the English maiden ashamed at her lack of touch.

"It's alright, there was no way you could had know" reassured the former spectre "In any case, this new Normandy has proved to be much better than the original so far. So I guess it wasn't all that bad" he said. Miranda gave him a deadpanned expression. Clearly he wasn't taking into consideration the monumental efforts that were done to bring him back from the dead and the role she played in his resurrection. The raven haired woman resented him for that.

Alice oblivious to this gave a cherry response "Yes! I suppose any ship-wreck that you can walk out on your own can be considered a stroke of luck, and you even managed to recover from your defeat and replace your lost ship. You must have born under a lucky star, commander"

Miranda had to speak her mind "That I agree" she said looking at Shepard straight in the eye "You don't know how very lucky you really where commander"

Garrus quipped in too "Yeah that's true Shepard, It's not every day when a dead man comes back into the world of the living. What a nice boost to your reputation you got for pulling out that stunt."

Alice frowned at that piece of information. "What is that suppose to mean? Is some way of hinting that the commander survived against all odds a catastrophe that made people believe he was dead or did mister Vakarian mean it literally?" she asked puzzled.

The commander rubbed the back of his head a little embarrassed. He really didn't know what to expect from the girl if he told her that he had died and then came back to life. He wanted to hold that particular info until thinking of a way to lay it down without shocking the young woman. Not that it mattered anymore after Garrus blurted it all out in the open. He and Miranda where on the same wavelength and tossed an accusing looking at the Turian for his mishap. He had the decency to look meek.

Shepard sighed "Yes well, about the last Normandy being destroyed. I kinda didn't manage to escape in time and ended up going down with the ship" he said a little too fast, awaiting the reaction of his listener.

Alice looked at him with confusion. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in intuitiveness "You mean… you died?" she asked

"Yes?" he replied a little unsure. Cheshire too was intrigued by this new revelation and leaned forward to listen better at the ongoing conversation. Shepard half-expected that she would recoil in shock and was not prepared when she started to observe him closely upside down like he was some kind of interesting lab specimen or something.

The girl took notice of the scars in the commander's face and how said scars released a faint glow. She was piqued by this. How could she not have taken notice of them before? Then she remembered that it was hard to take notice of any personal marks while on purgatory due to the red light that bathed the entire place in crimson. So maybe there was some truth to the commander's claims.

"You're not pulling my leg aren't you?" she asked Shepard face to face while stepping on her tiptoes. The commander swayed his head side to side to signal his answer, his companions Garrus and Miranda mimicked him "No, I didn't think so. You don't look the type and I'm pretty good to detect when someone is trying to cheat on me. So that means…"

Then against all his expectations the girl beamed a smile and declared in exaltation "Wow! That is utterly impressive commander; I have to say you're looking pretty good for a dead man you know." He really hadn't expected that "Your people must be more advanced than I already thought if you can manage to bring the dead back to life" she kept on morbidly delighted at the prospect "How did you manage to accomplish such achievement in the first place?"

"Huh?" Shepard was astonished by her reaction; he would not have thought that she would just take it by his mere word. He was certainly out of his element with this girl, so he quickly passed the ball unto his XO "You should ask Miranda about that, she was in charge of the project that brought me back to life. I don't know much about it to tell the truth, I was dead at the time you know."

The girl pondered bringing a finger to her chin "That's logical I suppose" she mentioned before assailing the older raven-haired beauty with questions. Miranda was happy to oblige, at least somebody acknowledged the importance of her work. She gave Alice a brief rundown of the Lazarus Project and all the bumps in the road she had to deal with, like the state of the commander's body after being recovered or how they had to deal from time to time with issues regarding implants rejection, whatever that's supposed to mean. All the while you could hear Jack in the back, close to the entrance, muttering something about fucking Cerberus and his fucking experiments and even a stray comment about Shepard being a zombie.

"That sounds impressive and messy" said Alice sobering up a little after hearing Miranda's explanations "For what I gather it must not have been a pretty sight and it seems that the process to resurrect the commander was long and tortuous. It… doesn't seem that good of a thing now that I think about it" She whirled back to Shepard "I'm sorry commander, I shouldn't have taken what you went through as something to be excited about. It must have been a horrible experience for you. I mean you, you died… that is something I'm not eager to experience myself any time soon."

"And I hope you won't" replied Shepard feeling a little down "Listen, I hope you can excuse me but I really do not want to talk about it right now" he said wanting to put an end to the subject. He absent-mindedly rubbed the scars of his face with one hand. The glow intensified for a few seconds and it seemed like it spread into the commander's eyes too. That blue hue was enthralling.

Snapping out her trance quickly, knowing this subject caused him discomfort, the girl complied to his petition "Is alright, commander, I get it. It must be truly distressing for you to be remembering such things. I know all about painful memories myself, so I understand that is something I shouldn't be prying on. I'll stop making questions if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, this revelation doesn't stop being nothing short of a miracle. It is indeed such an amazing feat"

"Alice is right commander" said Cheshire involving himself in the conversation "I can safely say that in all the years I've known her, we have never heard of someone who's been able to perform such biblical miracle like in the stories of old. –he chuckled- you're proving to be such a fun person to be around with" he mentioned.

"Decontamination completed" chimed a polite female voice, taking the focus of attention away from Shepard for which he was glad. Alice thought there was a strange ring to that voice as if it was coming from a machine rather than a person. In the meantime, the commander turned while the doors of the airlock opened allowing the shore party and its new additions inside the Normandy.

The voice chimed again this time it was addressing the commander directly "Welcome back, Commander. Mister Moreau would like to express his concerns at how it is becoming a disturbingly recurrent event that every time you go on a mission it results with the entire team escaping from an explosive situation and fleeing into the Normandy with only few precious seconds to spare. He would like that the next time you plan on going out expecting a quick exit you should send a heads up beforehand or if it's possible leave a note attached to the fridge"

"Thanks EDI" replied Shepard to the voice "and tell Joker that we will try to keep the explosions at a minimum next time"

EDI's avatar popped in a nearby holo-projector close to the airlock. Alice was surprised at seeing the little smooth looking sphere of light winking into existence out of nowhere, she quickly identified her as the owner of the voice. "Shepard!" said EDI with urgency "I've been detecting a set of unusual anomalies fixed around you and the team location since you where traversing through the interior of Purgatory. Said anomalies seem to have somehow latched unto you and have followed you back inside the Normandy. I'm currently detecting them concentrated just right behind you. I must assume they are related to the new additions to the crew" she presumed.

Shepard blinked "Ah yes, you may be correct. This does seem to have something to do with the additional members we had to recruit while on purgatory. It was outside the mission parameters I know, but these 2 individuals have some really impressive set of skills that I figured could benefit the team greatly" he explained to EDI.

The glowing ball of light remained completely impassive and inscrutable during the second she remained quiet as if in thought. Alice was curious about EDI. Why would she not be, she was a nice looking sphere made entirely of light that seemed to be well-mannered, which she approved -good to see there were people that knew about proper manners in this place- besides she liked the sound of her voice, she found it soothing.

EDI eventually replied "As the Illusive man already stated it, Shepard. You are the one in charge of this entire operation. Any decision of how it should be carried out is ultimately up to you. If you want to recruit people that are not in the dossiers forwarded by Cerberus, then you are freely to do so. I have no say in this matter, commander. Though I'm curious to know what kind of person is able to foil all my attempts to get a clear reading of him from my sensors"

That struck Shepard as odd "What? You're saying you cannot see Alice standing right here with me?" he questioned while pointing at Alice.

"I do not _see_ as humans do, commander, to see I would need to have eyes. In essence I'm just a collection of codes and mathematics; I can only have an idea of my surroundings and its people through the use of the sensors and systems inside the Normandy. Said sensors are unable to properly identify your new team additions, a glitch occurs on my scanners when they screen through the area of what I can only label as anomalies. But by the name you've mentioned I must deduce that the source of this anomaly is a human female. She must be really skilled if she is able to interfere with my systems this effectively" Chimed EDI.

"Can't you even make a visual identification? Isn't the Normandy packed with surveillance bugs installed by the Illusive man?" asked Shepard running through several options.

EDI considered that option "Most of the time, the bugs that are located inside the Normandy are used to record only audio or data, but yes I believe I could use some of the bugs that record video and images inside the CIC. I shall attempt to hack over their systems to obtain a visual" she declared.

EDI's avatar remained quiet for a couple of seconds, the blinking of the lights that formed her image being the only motion that could be witnessed. She must have been able to get her visual, because the silence stretched to the point of being awkward. "Shepard?" EDI finally said.

"Yes? EDI"

"I've have to admit, I wasn't expecting a young human female in a bright colored dress and a emaciated cat whose size is outside of any normal parameters of growth to join the team, this is outside of any of my possible scenarios" said the AI. It only made Shepard smirk.

"Wait until you see what they can do, it would blow your mind, so to speak" he declared. "Anyway EDI, I want you to inform the crew that I want everyone present in the CIC ASAP. I want to inform them personally of the new additions to the team"

"Acknowledged Shepard. Login you out" chimed EDI in confirmation before her avatar shrunk in size until popping out of existence.

Shepard motioned to his team to follow him down on the CIC. The voice of EDI resonated through all their surroundings delivering the message she was instructed to give. Alice was marveled by the interior of the vessel, it was so pretty, so many light forms of different sizes floating out of walls and panels most of them where orange in color and had geometrical circular shapes; quite pleasing to the eye. She saw people touching, grabbing and moving the figures, _they where touching light_. She never would have imagined that one could touch the light as if it was just like any other object. Every minute she spent in the presence of the commander Shepard came with a new amazing discovery. She was really enjoying her time in here.

She was even more marveled when she saw the dais in the center of the room, it was so brilliant and it displayed a perfect representation made of light of the entire ship. The commander took position in a small semi-circular platform at the back of the dais. But Alice was too much focused on the image to pay any attention to the commander; she barely took notice of the red-headed woman addressing the commander or the people that started to flood in the room from the back door or how they all stared at her and Cheshire –mostly Cheshire- in surprise. She wasn't even aware of the presence of an old scarred man with mismatched eyes or a thin and skinny Frog-amphibious man with a lab-coat also with scars in his face.

Suddenly, the image displayed in the dais changed, and it now showed a sea of stars, she had never seen so many of them in all her life. Realization dawned on her when she remembered the commander saying that this ship sailed through the stars and she figured that this must be a map of all the celestial bodies in the night-sky; No! Scratch that, the universe. She never thought that they would be so immeasurable.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of a new voice yelling in alarm "Holy crap! Shepard; what kind of sick genetic experiments where the blue suns doing inside that ship? Did they wanted to put their own little horror zoo together or something? Why did you bring it aboard the ship? Is it because you wanted a pet? Didn't know you where a cat person commander. Why couldn't you have found one that didn't had his genetic make-up all screwed up. Next time I know, you're gonna want to bring a hideously mutated pack of super piranhas for your aquarium; I'll have to buy a harpoon now for when they decide to eat the crew… Damn and here I thought you were trying to pull a prank on me while I was monitoring the comm."

Alice turned around and saw a bearded man wearing a cap dressed in the same uniform that all the people inside the Normandy limping towards the commander; he wasn't taking his eyes off Cheshire. EDI popped up again in a nearby terminal located at the side of the closed circular door behind Shepard and addressed the newcomer. "The possession and use of underwater weaponry inside the Normandy is against regulations, Mister Moreau. Not to mention highly inefficient for modern standards" she said.

"I know EDI, I was joking" answered back the now introduced Mr. Moreau "Jeez, take a moment to refill your batteries will ya'?"

Cheshire purred seemingly amused "It seems my presence is causing quite the shocking impression among your crew, commander" This made the entire room to grow quiet, the crew utterly silenced to disbelief after witnessing Cheshire speak.

Now Alice didn't particularly cared about what the crew of this ship thought about her or Chesire; so she paid no heed to the sudden string of alarmed reactions that followed and instead she shifted her attention towards EDI's. The little ball of light intrigued her and she wondered if she could touch her just as she had witnessed others touching those formations of light that where all around. She slowly and without drawing the attention of the rest of the team, approached the little sphere of light with growing curiosity while the commander was busy settling down his crew. Cheshire saw her but made no comment about it, just like the rest of the Normandy crew, who now where standing at attention in front the commander who was about to introduce them to the crew.

Talking about Shepard he had already went underway in his speech after having managed to calm down his crew "I know most of you will have many questions about the new additions that I've brought to team. I know they are somewhat strange and in truth what I'm about to say to all of you may sound utterly ridiculous and far-fetched. But we haven't found any better explanation as for the existence of this two"

Well, it seemed he wasn't paying much attention to her, so she kept forward on with her little research. She stood right in front EDI, the little ball of light showed no adverse reaction to her presence. It would seem she was just as curious about Alice, as Alice was about her. The young English lady pursed her lips in thought and slowly and steadily she brought her index finger closer towards the sphere of light with the intention of poking her.

Alice touched EDI's avatar with the tip of her finger, it was like touching solid water if such thing existed, the British girl thought. Ripples where formed on EDI's image, a reaction of her scrutiny, it seemed that the little sphere of light was tangible enough; she was pleased with her discovery.

So Alice grabbed the pretty glowing ball with both her hands and lifted her off her podium, bringing EDI closer to her. The young woman was acting like she had just discovered some ancient lost artifact, with EDI being said artifact. Well the notion of touching light was pretty neat for her 19th century mindset, it made her smile in satisfaction at her findings.

Of course she was not the only one to take notice of her s_uccess. _I mean she was practically behind Shepard and his team while the first was addressing to his crew that was standing right in front of him, circling the dais and because of that, they had a plain, unhindered view of Alice and her little test.

Shepard was baffled as to why suddenly all of his crewmates had this mouth gaped dumbstruck expressions on their faces. He hadn't said anything yet about Alice being _**the**_ Alice of Lewis Carroll's Alice in wonderland. He was expecting such reactions for after revealing that little tidbit not before.

He gave a questioning look to Joker, Kelly, Gabby and Ken, who were on the first row and all they did was to point behind him. That seemed odd to him, so he and the rest of the ground team looked behind their backs and saw something utterly mindboggling.

Alice was physically holding EDI's avatar on her grasp! That was impossible, VI's interfaces aren't like the holographic interfaces installed to control the Normandy systems; you cannot interact in such direct way with her, the system is not designed to be used in that manner.

The commander was unable to suppress his outburst "ALICE! What the hell you're doing?" which caught Alice off-guard making her drop EDI. The little ball of light hit the ground, bouncing a few times; she rolled down the floor until stopping at the base of dais where Shepard was standing. Strangely enough there was a sound that reminded of a crystal ball being dropped coming from EDI, again not possible since she was not physical. Garrus then tried to touch the little sphere of light that was on the floor. He couldn't, his fingers passed through EDI unable to find any measure of density, it only caused the image of EDI to fizzle. It was all so baffling and bizarre.

The commander looked at Alice in desperation, he stammered a little in his response "Alice?... What? How?" He took a deep breath and returned to his original question "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Alice answered smiling rather sheepishly "Ooopsie! Sorry commander, I was just marveled at all your glowing thingies, they're so curious. Seeing how all the people around here where able to touch them, I just wanted to try it myself. I had never seeing someone touching light before. Such an unusual thing to behold and believe me, I know about unusual sightings. I've seen castles made of cards floating on the sky, an underwater city of talking fish people, living, moving roses that try to eat you. My, I even know of a valley that is made entirely from my tears, a whole forest has grown out of them if you must know"

That little prattle did nothing to appease to commander or his crew for that matter, on the contrary it made their uneasiness to grow even more. Shepard decided that it was best to check if EDI could offer any hindsight about this.

"EDI! Can you tell us anything of how she managed to touch you?" he pleaded to the A.I.

Unfortunately EDI was not sure "I'm sorry commander, but I'm afraid to be unable to give you a proper answer"

Shepard sighed in resignation "How so?"

"As I had stated earlier, my systems are unable to take readings out of her. It is as if a fog had suddenly clouded over my systems and no matter what I do, I can't seem to be able to pierce it in any way" stated the little sphere of light still on the floor. "Strange though" she continued "Somehow she was not only able to physically touch my avatar, but also, I was able…I…"EDI stopped in the middle of her explanation, as if she was seriously considering her answer, this caught Shepard's attention.

"EDI? What is it?" he asked, seemingly preoccupied for the small A.I.

"Shepard, I don't know how to explain it. I felt her touching me commander; I could feel her comander… the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin; the pressure she was exerting upon my avatar, all those things that I am unable of experience for being a construct of logic. For a moment I knew what humans experienced when touching. I can only describe it as the most beautiful thing I have experienced" stated the A.I. solemnly. Shepard and all the people present where obviously stunned by the revelation.

"Shepard! Who are this people?" asked Kenneth rather alarmed.

The commander had to resist the urge to rub the bridge of his nose. This wasn't clearly going according to his expectations. He now had the dubious honor of explaining to his crew who Alice and Cheshire were.

Well he tried to do it the best he could, without upsetting his crew too much…. Much more than what they already were anyway. He wasn't sure he had succeeded in his task when they all fell into a deadly silence. The only one who seemed to try to take the situation with an open mind was Kelly.

The red-head Yeoman was looking at Alice intently from head to toe; taking notice of her appearance, her clothes, her bearing. Well maybe everything would be alright, he thought. That is, until Kelly broke into a fit of giggles, laughing to herself like a lunatic. That was scary… She then glomped unto Alice while rapidly yelling a string of unintelligible things that would had leaved even Mordin to shame; in what was possibly the most loud, annoying, nerve excruciating, disturbing, grating and _girlish_ display of mushiness that the Commander had ever witnessed.

"Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ican'tbelieveit, you'rereal , ohohohlookatyou, 'rejustasI'dimagine"

Yes, it was a horrible thing to behold, poor Alice; she was freaked out by the crazy red-head that was touching her and pulling at her clothes. Even Cheshire was unnerved by this unnatural sight, his smile even diminished a little. Obviously this proved way too much out of her comfort zone for the young flustered girl. Everybody was watching her, she hated when she was the center of attention. Oh! And she was making herself a fool in front of the commander, how galling this all was. She was so ashamed that all she wanted right know was to become small and disappear.

She shouldn't have been dwelling on those thoughts; because in her case, she can literally make herself the size of a mouse.

:HIC:

…...

**!**

There was this calm; you know the silence that portends that all hell is about to break loose. Kelly had stopped her infernal babble –Thank God- looking perplexed at the tiny little Alice that had only 30cm of height, everybody was perplexed looking at the tiny Alice that had only 30cm of height. They just stared petrified in shock with eyes big as plates.

Kelly tried to poke the tiny Alice, who just swatted her finger aside in annoyance and wasted no time to turn tail, running as fast as her diminutive legs could carry her in the direction of Shepard. She then took cover behind the commander, using him as a human shield, only then did she return to her original size.

:HIC:

"Stay away from me; I don't know who you are and I certainly do not like to be touched with such audacity, the nerve of you. Commander don't let her near me" said Alice clearly upset.

If the crew was not startled up until this moment; they sure as hell were now. Some of Shepard's subordinates were not able to handle the shock, and lot of people fainted, Kenneth and Gabby among them. The sounds of bodies hitting the floor resonated through the entire CIC. This is the moment where Shepard face-palmed. And that's also when the rest of the still standing crew panicked like headless chickens.

Also, Zaeed found this to be the perfect moment to speak his mind. "Bloody Hell, Shepard! What the blazes is going on?"

* * *

><p>Several hours had passed since that little fiasco in the CIC. Shepard really got his hands full on that one. He had to call the help of all his team members to rein the panicked crew. Then he had fling Alice down to the infirmary with Dr. Chakwas. The young lady didn't understand why she had to go see a doctor if she wasn't feeling particularly ill and the commander replied –not much gracefully- that it was standard protocol that all new members must go through a medical examination so they don't infect the crew with any disease they may be carrying; which outright offended the Brit maiden. How could the commander dared to insinuate such outlandish claims about her.<p>

Shepard also had tried to send Jack down with Chakwas alongside Alice for a check-up. But the biotic replied that she wasn't going anywhere until she got the Cerberus intel she was promised, and unless that happened, all the crew could die of Diarrhea for all she cared. So he sent her to the comm. Room instead to deal with that issue when things where less hectic in the CIC.

Right know the Commander was in the cockpit checking up on Joker. Who had spent almost an hour, laughing at his misfortune; he really was having a field day with this whole situation. Shepard had to rely on every ounce of his self-control, less he tried to broke Joker like a twig. After all he's the pilot and they cannot afford him to be indisposed. Shepard sighed, rubbing his temples. Man! The last few hours have really been a headache.

"You know Shepard! Before you stepped back on the ship, I was considering telling you that you should watch over Jack, you know, because we can only take so much crazy inside the ship." Deadpanned the pilot with a little twitch on his mouth "But that seems pretty much useless right now, that you seem to have sent us on a one way trip down into the mouth of madness. But I must give it to you Shepard. Those 2 are the most bizarre things that you have ever brought back to the ship, suddenly I feel as if we were in another dimension or something. Just like in one of those old vids that where about weird stuff" he said before going all crazy into chanting the tune of the twilight zone. Shepard rolled his eyes, he knew right there it was time to go and check on the rest of the crew.

"Shepard, Dr Chakwas and Professor Solus require your presence on the infirmary" chimed EDI through the Normandy's speakers.

Since Shepard had sent Alice and Chesire to the infirmary, neither of the 2 or Chakwas had come out. He had suspected that they may have been complications with their tests when she had called Mordin for assistance.

So the commander hopped on the elevator, down to the crew quarters, into the mess hall – There he saw that the lids of the infirmary were down, probably to keep the crew from staring- and finally pass the doors of the infirmary.

He found Alice sitting on the edge of one of the beds with a bored expression, the cat on the other hand was still his usual inscrutable and creepy self, standing with his ever present smile at one side of the young woman. Mordin and Dr. Chakwas, however, were looking at their omnitools and screening devices with confusion.

The commander approached Alice "Hey kid, how you're hanging in there?" he asked

"Commander!" replied Alice relieved to see him again, maybe now she could get out of here. Her time with the doctors had been utterly vexing and tedious, understandably, since their focus relied solely on their little glowing devices "I've found my stay in this place to be terribly boring. All that you're doctors are doing is aiming this weird glowing contraptions at me and then they go all puzzled and start tinkering with them. It would seem that none of their toys are working perfectly" she stated with a hint of frustration. "The only reason I haven't stormed out of here is because I've been engrossed in my conversation with EDI"

"Indeed" interjected Cheshire "The lack of excitement has certainly been particularly tiresome on our nerves"

"I'm sorry to hear that" Replied Shepard "I'll make sure make it up to both of you, once this all over2 he redirected his attention to the doctors "So docs; I take it that their tests didn't go as planned?"

"I can't' explain it commander" said Chakwas scratching her head without taking her eyes from the readings in her omnitool "None of our sensors or scanners are able to make an accurate reading of them both" she stated referring to Alice and Cheshire "we have tried with every single device aboard the Normandy. None of them were successful and is not a malfunction of the equipment. Mordin and I checked and double-checked them all to make sure they were working in optimal condition. There is no other explanation but to assume that Alice and her cat are complete and utterly invisible to our scanners"

"Yeah, EDI mentioned something like that when I stepped back on the ship" commented Shepard musing on the subject.

"Yes, quite the distressing matter" piped Mordin in, looking up from his little workstation "All possibilities already accounted for. Every mechanical failure, dismissed. Already has been agreed that the source is likely coming from the subjects, could be a collateral effect from the use of their abilities. They have displayed already an unusual and diverse set of them, Phasing through solid objects, teleportation, reduction and manipulation of mass, metamorphosis, limited control over the wind currents to reduce descending speed. Possible assumption that they may somehow work in similar ways as biotics, producing force fields of diverse frequencies that somehow interfere with our readings (:Sniff:) Further studies are required" he stated before getting back on his work.

"Further studies?" questioned Alice not pleased in the least with that statement "I can't stand been in here anymore; I want to see the rest of the ship. Please, commander! If you need a guinea pig, I'll gladly lend Cheshire for your doctors to play with for a while" pleaded the girl, Cheshire released a disgruntled growl, not amused at being so easily disposed.

Shepard was mildly amused at their antics, he cracked a smile "Easy there, I'm sure is not that bad. Just hold tight. Doctor Chakwas and Professor Solus are the best medical experts I know. I'm sure they will be able to solve whatever problem they have in no time"

The English girl rebuked, swaying her head to show her disagreement "No, you don't get it! I don't feel comfortable in here. I don't like being surrounded by these bare and austere walls. It makes me remem…" the girl abruptly stopped talking and turned away from Shepard. She was suddenly very nervous and started to fidget with her dress.

Shepard was perplexed by this "it makes you remember what? Alice; what's wrong?" he asked with a hint of concern.

Alice paused for a moment, after that, she answered in a very low voice. She didn't faced Shepard back and kept looking at the floor "It makes me remember the Asylum".

"Asylum? What Asylum?" Shepard pressed, thinking that this may give him some insight into Alice's origins.

But the girl wasn't forthcoming, instead she put an end to that trend of inquiry "I do not want to talk about it Commander. Suffice to say it was a horrible place and the least my mind dwells in its memory, the better I will be. Please commander, I implore you, let me leave this place"

Shepard could clearly see how anxious Alice was. Whatever happened to her must have been pretty bad to leave her all this frightened of medical institutions. He bit the interior of his cheek, thinking it through. "Well I don't see anything wrong with your request. As a matter of fact I wanted to give you the tour of the Normandy personally. That way we could speak and try to know each other."

Alice was caught off guard by that statement. Was the commander showing an interest for her in a sentimental way? Well, she is no stranger of being subjected to the advancements of a man. Although the type of men she tends to attract –too much of her dismay- are not as polite or immaculate as the commander. She fidgeted awkwardly with a few loose strands of hair; her cheeks flushing red. My! Was it her or it was suddenly a little too hot around here. "I'm really flattered at the interest you profess in me, commander. But as much as I appreciate it, I think you're being a little too bold for my comfort."

The commander blinked his expression blank. He remained silent for a few seconds and then laughed heartily at her response which only made for the young woman's embarrassment to increase "I think you didn't understand well what I was trying to say. You see I like to know my crew and often I spoke to them and tried to get closer to them better. You and Cheshire are part of it now, which makes both of you my responsibility. And I believe it will make my job to take care of the both of you a lot easier, if we were know each other as friends. Besides you are way too young for my tastes." Realizing that the girl may feel insulted by his rebuttal the commander quickly added "Please don't take me wrong. You're a very pretty lady, I'll admit. You have this air of classical beauty on yourself. Seven years ago before the blitz, I would have definitely not wasted a second thought to date you. But now, I don't think that'd be a smart thing to do. I mean you look barely out of your teens and I'm on the wrong side of thirty, so I hardly think it is an appropriate thing to be hooking up with you"

The girl nodded in understanding, Alice was pleased with that answer and acknowledged the truth in Shepard's words "Yes, those where my thoughts exactly. I mean you a very good-looking man yourself commander. If I were a normal person, I wouldn't mind to try a romantic pursuit with you, of course not counting the age gap between us. But I have intimacy issues concerning other people and I'm not very good with relationships either commander, It's hard for me to make friends or trust other people. But I can see you are a very honest and straight person, so I'll guess I wouldn't mind to befriend someone like you commander"

Shepard smiled reassuringly and patted the younger woman in the shoulder "Glad to hear that, so how about if we leave this place and I show you the rest of the ship. Of course, with the doc's permission" He turned and addressed the medical experts of the Normandy "So what you say doc's? Do you mind if I take your patient with me for a couple of hours to show her the sights?"

Mordin and Chawkas showed no rejection to that idea and gave their approval, well just in Dr. Chakwas case. Mordin was too busy with his readings to care; he only gave a dejected wave with his hand to give his go ahead.

"Of course Commander, you may take this young lady if you want. We are not making much progress in here after all, so I'll guess it would be fine if you keep her mind occupied in the meantime. Of course I will be expecting you to be in your best behavior commander" Said Chakwas in a conspiratorial tone.

"You know me Doc. When I'm not but the perfect gentleman?" he replied in tease and then spoke back to Alice "Well, now that we have the docs blessing, How about if we put our little show down the road?" he asked and offered his hand to the younger girl.

Alice smiled and took the offered hand "I'd really much like that, commander" she said before letting Shepard escort her out of the infirmary.

* * *

><p><em>Well there you have it, again sorry if it wasn't entirely to everybody liking. Don't worry next chapter would be better, I'm putting real emphasis in that one. I'll even put some of those philosophical speeches that people liked me doing for chapter 2 –You know the one where the endless make cameo- I have too because I will address Alice's abilities in that one. So, until next chapter.<em>


	8. The sound of her wings

**Author's note: **You know; I have to say sorry beforehand. I know I had said that I would be offering an explanation of Alice's abilities in this chapter, but due to time constrictions and limitations, which are related to the fact that this chapter was stretching beyond what I had originally anticipated. I'll have to push that scene down another chapter. Sorry, but hey, not all are bad news. I assure all of you that this is an excellent chapter on his own, even if is not what I had promised it would be. It will still be of your liking.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. All intellectual property belongs to Electronic Arts... sadly.

**CHAPTER VII**

**THE SOUND OF HER WINGS**

The doors of the Normandy's elevator hissed and turned before opening, allowing the Commander and the young girl, currently under his care, to access inside the deepest bowels of the ship. Shepard, true to his word, had taken the vivid maiden into sight-seeing every corner of the vessel, showing to her every marvel that the Normandy had to offer. He had to watch very closely over the girl during the entire trip, making sure she didn't tried to touch anything else, less she pulled another impossible feat that would fright the crew even more; They where edgy enough as it is. He also had to make sure she didn't get too close to another crewmember, they could not hand her presence very well without freaking out just yet.

But despite these little inconveniencies, their little excursion had run pretty smoothly so far. Alice seemed to really being enjoying herself, she found everything that was shown to her as something new and marvelous to behold, which in her case, most likely it was. They were now about to embark into the final portion of their tour; Engineering.

"And down here is engineering, our docking bay is also located in here. It is where we store our shuttle, the small ship –That you can see over there- which we use to land on the surface of worlds during ground operations. The Normandy is too big to attempt an entry inside a planet's atmosphere, I'm sure you're wondering why it can't, seeing as how the Normandy is nowhere near the size of a planet. There is a scientific explanation to that, but is way too big and complex for me to explain, suffice to say it is really dangerous for a space-faring vessel to attempt landing on a world after it has exceeded a certain size." Said Shepard, giving Alice a brief run-down of what was to be known of this section of the ship.

"Anyway, down here is where the Normandy's eezo Drive Core is located, which is the giant engine that keeps the ship moving and allows it to travel through the stars." That piece of information piqued Alice interest, she had the feeling it must be an amazing piece of advanced machinery, certainly much more so compared with Hatter's tottering designs. The commander kept speaking on, oblivious to Alice's inner musings "We also have the not so glamorous but still really important garbage disposal facility, I think that is pretty much self-explanatory. That is where Zaeed Massani, our resident Bounty Hunter and Mercenary, is bunked." He stated.

"A Bounty Hunter? Why would you require the assistance of such a person?" Asked Alice intrigued and scandalized at the same time of that notion.

"Zaeed is an old mercenary; he has a lot of experience on extremely dangerous black-ops. Cerberus thought it a good idea to have him on my team. So they paid him a hefty sum to join me on my mission, for what I heard. He's tough and mean-looking, but he's damn good to have at your side during a gunfight" Shepard replied matter-of-factly "But enough of that. Tell me Alice, how you're liking the Normandy so far?" he asked to the younger woman.

"It is the most magnificent thing I have ever seen, commander" replied Alice bouncing in exaltation "Wonderland doesn't compare with this place. Not that I'm saying that my wonderland is not a wonderful place in its own right –pardon the pun- but the things, the inventions and machinery of this place are simply beyond anything that I or anyone back home have ever imagine or dream of" She stated pretty roused.

"I'll admit, I'm finding rather difficult to wrap my head around many of these new subjects and ideas." Alice rubbed briefly her temple with one hand. What she said was very true, during the tour the commander had to give her brief introductions about what Eezo, mass effect fields, omnitools, holo-interfaces and such technologies were. It was obviously too much to handle in such a short time. "All of it sounds so splendid, even though I can't fully understand much of it, yet… give some time to put my mind into it, and I'm sure I will have everything figured out in a peach." she stated rather arrogantly.

"Yeah, I don't blame you." the commander agreed "If what you said is true and you are really from the XIX century, then I'm not surprised that you're suffering a little of a culture shock. But you look like a good kid, so I'm sure you will acclimatize soon enough. Though I must say, you're handling it pretty well so far, like if it causing you no trouble at all believing in everything that this modern, state-of-the-art age has to offer." he idly wondered why it was that; he half-expected that she would had freaked out, faint or make a scene by now. Instead she acted more like a children inside a candy store, all laughs and smiles, so to speak.

The girl smiled broadily tilting her head sideways "Well, I do tend to think in a hundred impossible things before breakfast every day, not to mention the things I've seen during my visits into wonderland."

"So, like what?" spoke Shepard daring a guess "You teach yourself to have an open mind attitude about things, that seems… really smart, how I wish that some people that I know of would have your outlook. Even in this day and age with all this incredible technology at our disposition, there still are people who are close-minded and skeptic about new discoveries. I have stumbled with that kind of people so many times, kinda lets you down a little." he mused, thinking in all those politicians that had hindered his efforts to save the galaxy in the past. Two years he had been dead and during that time his warnings were dismissed and forgotten. He didn't particularly expected anything of that too change any time soon if he were to speak with the council, they would possibly brand him as a traitor for being working alongside Cerberus. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying, he was just that stubborn.

The commander sighed, starting to get depressed at such thoughts. He glanced at Alice and thought that might as well try to give her an idea of the kind of mission he is about to swept her into.

"You know; I'm on a mission to save the galaxy from certain destruction against an ancient and terrible threat that has brought the extinction of every space-faring civilization that has come before, but when I tried to warn others about it, they brand me as crazy or delussional. So here you have me gunning around in my ship on a race against time and against impossible odds to save all the human colonies in the frontier from having their entire populations abducted by the collectors. And the only ones willing to help me and do what needs to be done to save humanity are terrorists and criminals because they don't let their hands to be tied up by a myriad of politics" said Shepard letting frustration to seep into his humor. "I know I shouldn't be talking in this depressing way since it doesn't help to improve my situation and I'm sure you don't want to be here listening to my problems, the last thing I want is to bother you with worries that are not your own. Is just that… it can be so really tiresome at times"

"Hmmph?" murmured Alice with a hint of disdain at this the new information "Well, it seems no matter where or when you go; there would always be judgmental people with a retrograde way of thinking. None are so deaf as they that will not hear, you should not concern about them commander. They will be the first to come crawling for your help once their little walls of illusions and complacencies come crashing down in front of their faces"

The commander smiled at that little mental image "Yeah I know, Alice. But the truth is… I just wish it didn't have to get to that for the governments of the galaxy to join against the greather threat. But, as it is, we are the unsung heroes on whose shoulders rest the destiny of the entire galaxy and I have no intentions to fail."

Alice beamed a smile at him "And I believe you commander. I can see it in your eyes, this determination that no matter what, you will keep pushing forward despite any bumps in the road. It really speaks heaps about your character. Is not often of me to say this sort of things to someone else, but despite the short time we've known each other, I can honestly say that you're a good man. Is hard not to take notice really, when you speak you do so with the heart, with a conviction that I have never seen before. And you don't try to lie or sweeten or embelish things from what they truly are; that I appreciate greatly. I've been lied and deceived more times in the past than I care to count, is… nice to be in the company of someone who is honest and clear in his intentions" she declared in all honesty.

Shepard gave an amused laugh as response "You say that now, but wait until I drag you to some more missions. I'll say most of my debates end up in a shootout more often than not, just wait and see; you'll be wishing for a more pliable company soon enough. Take this little debacle while searching for Jack as example. An entire space station full of mercs shooting at you while said space station was getting down on flames with us still inside. Around these parts we call it Thursday" the former spectre joked, succesfully pulling a giggle out of Alice.

"Well, if I'm to tell the truth, I could use for a little exciment. I'm not much of an idle person myself" she said wiggling a finger up for emphasis.

"Then stick around and I promise lots of fun times while riding with us" replied Shepard with a smile of his own.

"I think I will take you offer at that, commander" said Alice tempted by the offer, she then paused and took a moment to think, her brow furrowed a little "Commander!" she whipped and stood in front Shepard, looking at him with sudden seriousness "I know it may not be entirely proper of me to keep pushing you into reminiscing your demise, but… Can you tell me something about how it was like? You know dying. I am an orphan, I lost my parents and my older sister in a fire when I was 8 and… well, is just- I wish to know if leaving this world is not…"She paused for a moment, trying carefully to choose her words "I want to know commander, if my family suffered or not…" she joined and clenched her fists, one on top of the other "I suppose I'm trying to use you as a reference point to appease my concerns" she said taking a hand to her forehead.

Shepard stood motionless for a moment, taking what he just heard into consideration "I, see…" was all he could manage to offer as reply.

Alice was quick to offer an apology "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, Commander. Ough! This was such a grossly mistake. Don't mind me, commander. It's just a lapse in my judgment." She said feeling really embarrassed.

But the commander wasn't hearing her anymore. His eyes grow distant and his mind started to wheel back at his final moments after the explosion that spaced him out of the Normandy.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

"_So this is it?" the commander thought while drifting helplessly around the low orbit of the planet Alchera. He wasn't really afraid of the fact of dying. He had lived a good life and done a lot of impressive feats during his military career. Elysium, The Blitz, Eden Prime, becoming the first human spectre, the hunt of Saren, Saving the Citadel and the Council, granting humanity a seat in the Council in the process. The only thing he lamented was that he would not be around to stop the reapers… That and that his goddamn suit proved to be so damn useless at withstanding the conditions of being spaced. The loss of oxygen and pressure was making him feel dizzy and queasy._

_He could see Alchera growing closer, the silhouette of the world filled more and more of his vision with each passing second. He closed his eyes and waited for the end, he was mentally prepared for it; he was at peace. What he didn't expect, however, was to suddenly hear the sound of the flap of wings. That pulled him out of his thoughts; why the hell was he hearing flapping wings in the middle of space? With his helmet on! And so close to a planet's stratosphere… Such a weird occurrence, did he was starting to hallucinate or something?_

_He opened his eyes, puzzled out by this occurrence and saw black feathers floating down slowly right in front of him. He didn't believe at first what he was seeing and blinked a couple of times in disbelief. The only thought that was produced in his mind was a big; WUT?_

_He raised his gaze on the direction from where the feathers slow cascade was originating; only to receive another unexpected surprise._

_There was a young woman floating right above him, wearing no space suit whatsoever. She was dressed in nothing but a black sleeveless T-shirt, a pair of jeans and with a pair of sneakers on her feet. She was extremely pale, her makeup, lipstick and eye-shadow were as black as her T-shirt and her hair, which was wild and disheveled was also pitch-black; her looks all but screamed Goth. She had a big brightly silver Ankh resting in the middle of her chest, the Ankh hanged from a chain that was around her neck. Her right eye was outlined with a tattoo of Egyptian design. He identified it as the Eye of Horus; he remembered it from his college days before the Academy. Her hands were on her pockets and she was looking at him with endearment. The way a mother would look at her children._

_The Goth suddenly started to speak to him. Shepard was surprised that he could hear her perfectly in the first place "…mmm… you know, is not every day that I do not have to collect someone from what it is without a doubt a no-way-you're-walking-out-alive situation" she said in a carefree tone, like she were discussing the weather or something and not a monumental catastrophe. He couldn't help but give to the woman a perplexed glance. The only smart response he could muster was another –this time- disgruntled "Wut?"_

_The woman smiled at him brightly and waved a hand in dismissal "Oh, don't mind me! I was just thinking out loud. You don't need to worry that handsome head of yours with any of my business."_

_She then floated down towards him, getting way too close from what could be considered proper. The woman was now supporting herself on his frame, leaning her weight on his shoulders. "Although, I'll say that you are very lucky to be listed for my preferential treatment." She huffed as if talking more to herself rather than towards the commander._

_Shepard was still unable to believe that all what he was witnessing was real, he presumed that he must be hallucinating due to the loss of oxygen and pressure of his suit. "Am I dreaming?" he stuttered._

_As if in tandem, the Goth woman turned and looked straight into his eyes. "Oh you're not dreaming commander, but you might as well believe you are. After all, I don't expect that you'll remember this little encounter of ours; not after what you are about to experience anyway." she said with a smile._

_He couldn't place a finger on it, but the Commander had this strange feeling that he had meet the woman before. Where? He could not recall. But she was oddly familiar to him. He spoke for the third time in their one-sided conversation and asked "Do I know you? I have the feeling that I've meet you before?"_

_The woman kept smiling, but her expression turned a little sad and melancholic "Everybody knows me; they've all meet me at one point or another in their lives. Even though most of the time they don't remember me or pretend not to remember. Let's just say, I'm like the little black sheep of the family that people doesn't like to talk about and prefer best to ignore. So I'm usually rejected and turned into a pariah. Most of the time, people like to act as if I didn't exist. Always dreading our inevitable meeting, hoping that by not acknowledging me, they would delay the day when I will come knocking at their doorstep. Out of sight and out of mind as they say; a silly way of thinking in reality. For it doesn't matter how much they attempt to shut me out. I come when I please and there's no one that can keep their doors close to me; which brings us back to your current situation." She said, pointing at the fact that he most likely was about to perish._

_The commander sighed, realizing what this all was about. "You've come for me are you not" he said, as a statement instead of a question "Now I recognize you. You're Death itself aren't you?" he realized._

_The woman; Death nodded in acknowledgment "Yep, that's me. Bet you weren't expecting me to be like this in reality? Everybody is always a little stunned when they finally meet me, they always expect me to be something entirely different." she said pocking him in the brow with a finger to mark her point. She then dislodged herself from her comfy position on Shepard's shoulders, straitening herself up and putting some distance between the two. She raised an eyebrow in inquisitiveness while taking a hand to her hips "But you know, you don't look really surprised to see Me." she stated in a curious tone._

_Shepard simply shrugged "Well, as it seems" he said gesturing to his current predicament "It's more than obvious that my time has come. I've already accepted that and made my peace, I have no regrets whatsoever. I had a good life; even though I will not be able to protect the galaxy from the reapers, I'm sure there will be others who will carry on with my task and succeed where I failed. Of that I'm sure; such is the strength of the human spirit."_

_Death assented with her head to what the commander was saying. But he wondered about her mischievous smile and knowing glance. "You may be correct in that regard commander. But I'm afraid you are mistaken about the reason of my presence in here. For you see I'm not here to take you with me, I've rather come to give you a boon." She professed._

"_What?" replied Shepard puzzled "I don't understand; Why did you came then, if is not to take me to the other side?" he questioned, truly at a loss._

"_I think I've already made a mention of this?" She said taking a finger to her chin "Didn't you heard me when I came in here? -I guess not since you misinterpreted my intentions- I had already said that I was not here to collect you." Said the Goth crossing her arms "Well, the thing is. You are a very special person, enough to warrant a personal visit from my part. For you see, you are one of the few lucky, chosen by my eldest brother to become a catalyst whose decisions will be pivotal in bringing change to this galaxy; Change that it so sorely needs."She stated giving him an inscrutable look "You are key to the designs of Destiny. You're supposed to do a lot of important things in the near future. You know saving the galaxy, being the big hero, that kind of stuff. Obviously you cannot do that if you're dead" she mentioned half-sarcastically. _

_That statement really struck a chord inside the commander; his eyes almost bulged out in surprise "What you're saying? You're gonna spare me? Pull me out of this pickle?" he asked, daring himself to hope that he may be able to get his neck out of the fire unscathed._

_His face deflated when he saw Death swaying her head in denial. "Nope, as I had said, you are important for the designs of Destiny. But those same designs are saying that this little mishap, you're currently in, must happen" she pointed out._

_The disregarding way that she was referring towards Shepard's loss of both ship and crew, made the commander's ire to rise "Little mishap, little mishap! In case you haven't noticed lady; my ship had just turned into a big fireball, many of my crew are dead and I'm sure as hell about to join them in the next five minutes." He replied aggressively._

_Death wasn't affected, not even a little, by his little outburst and made it know. "Hold down your horses, cowboy! There's no reason to get all worked up. I guess, I may have sounded a little uncaring to you. I'm sure that from your point of view this must be a world-ending calamity and I'm sure it is. But; I'm sorry to say it, in the great schemes of things –which is what I have to uphold and see that it goes smoothly- this shipwreck of yours, is little more than a footnote. From that standpoint in order to ensure the continuity of all the things that keeps the fabric of the universe still together, you Commander Shepard have to die in this place. Sorry, but that's how this things are." She stated, offering her condolences._

_Shepard was starting to get desperate, all this seemed beyond him "I don't understand, you say I'm important and that I must save the galaxy. But you also say that I must die up in here before I can do that, isn't that a little contradictory?" he questioned feeling flummoxed._

"_Not rightly so" Death replied tentatively "True, for all intents and purposes you will die in here… But that will not stop you" she said confidently with a half-smirk._

"_WHAT?"_

"_You have to go through this Shepard; it is unavoidable. The experience will kill you, of course; But this is not when or where I'll have to take you to the other side. No, that encounter is reserved for another time. So you see my position in here? I have to oversee your demise, but I will not guide you into the afterlife, for it is not yet your appointed hour. You will not go through the process of ascendancy and resurrection that most souls have to go through; Rather, I'll put your soul in a state of hold inside of a pocket dimension of my own. In which it will remain until the time comes for you to awaken" she said signaling with her hand to try to make her point across._

_Shepard was musing on all this; he was starting to understand "Kind of like suspended animation?" he asked._

_Death granted him that observation "Yes, something like that. Seems you're getting the idea of this as I knew you would. You know you've always been one of my favorites, Shepard. You have this charismatic attraction and strength radiating from you. That is a trait that you never seem to lack, no matter the universe or which version of you it may be -Don't give me that look Shepard- You didn't expect this to be the only plane of existence that exists, do you? There are an unfathomable number of universes; many of them are mirrors of each others, containing other versions of you, each one with different goals and values. Some of them have different origins or careers, in some of them you even are a woman. But it doesn't matter the looks or how much kind or ruthless you can be in each different plane. They all share that same thing that makes you great. That unfaltering resolution that makes you go to any length and defy any danger without hesitation, no matter how unseemly are your odds of success, just to be true to the oath that you've made to protect the galaxy from harm… You know, all this can be enough to leave a girl swoon on her feet." She stated with a flirtatious tone that leaved Shepard feeling a bit awkward._

"_Thanks… I guess?" he said, not really knowing how he should take all this. He never, ever would have imagined that **Death** itself would be a she. And that said **she** would be hitting on him, go fancy that. Well at the very least it would appear that Death was favorable towards the commander, it seemed he had gained her respect and admiration, somehow? That kinda might be a good thing._

_He spoke once more "So that means you are here to help me? I guess I owe an apology for my previous outburst, I didn't mean to be insulting. Is just… I'm a little shaken for the lost of my ship. She and its people were very important to me." He said humbly. _

_The Goth accepted his apology with a smile "No need for apologies commander, there was no harm done" she then focused over Shepard with determination "Are you ready now? Our time is almost up." she asked and the Commander replied with a nod._

_She started to approach towards the commander once more, again her features turned warm and motherly. But this time with a hint of resolution in her eyes "Do not be afraid, Shepard. It will be like when you sleep. You will not feel anything and you will not be able to remember any of this too. Unless as of some long forgotten and hazy dream. With that said; allow me to bid you my farewell and wish upon you pleasant dreams." she said, raising her hand towards him while continuing to reducing the distance between the two._

_The Goth was getting closer more and more. It appeared as if she was increasing in her size, becoming the only thing that Shepard could occupy his sight on, until he was completely covered by her shadow._

_And that… That is when the Commander saw her wings._

_End Flashback_

* * *

><p>"Commander, are you there? Hello; is anyone listening to me inside there?"<p>

Shepard blinked in stupefaction, pulling himself out of his thoughts and back to reality. It cost him a few seconds to regain the awareness of his surroundings. "What? Who?...Oh! It's you Alice. Sorry; I seemed to have spaced out for a minute back there." he said pressing at his forehead.

The British girl was looking at him with scrutiny "You had me worried for a minute commander. One moment you where standing right here with me, and all of the sudden your face turned distant and you were irresponsive; As if your mind had decided to go out on a walk. It was really disconcerting." Said Alice mulling in what had transpired. She ventured a guess "Did this happen, because I distressed you with the mention of your death experience?"

Shepard was still trying to regain his senses, but he was lucid enough to answer the girl's questions "Yes… something like that, I was remembering my final moments after the explosion of the previous Normandy. It… well, what can I say? Is hard for me to tell with exactitude what happened. My head- I; it hurts to remember." he expressed with difficulty.

Alice turned away from his sight in shame, not daring meeting his eyes. She felt responsible for the commander's anguish. "I knew it. It was my fault, I should have never tried to approach the subject again; it only brings you pain and sorrow. It was so unthoughtful from my part." She said being too hard on herself.

Shepard tried to appease her concern "It's okay Alice. There was no harm done; sooner or later I'll have to face and come to terms with the fact that I died. It is in no way your fault" he gently grabbed her and turned her around into looking at him again "You hear me? It's not your fault. We all have our inner demons, you can see mine plain enough; I know is a rough thing to think about them. The mere mention can be enough to scare us and cause us despair. But it comes a time when you must make a stand and face that which frightens you, it's part of growing up. So you see? This is something I will have to deal with on my own when the time comes, and in no way is caused by any action from your part. So cheer up, Ok and don't be sad."

Alice nodded in compliance, she dried her eyes and tidied up her dress "Yes, your right commander. Sorry for crumbling down like that… And thank you, I was right in my assessment of your character after all. You are indeed a good man." she said with a smile.

The commander smiled back at her "Yeah- well, I try. Now come on, we have to move on. How about if I take you to see the drive core, wouldn't you like that? To see what makes the Normandy move across the stars, wouldn't that be neat?" he asked, changing the topic of the conversation.

The girl was perked up by that idea "Yes; that would be… _neat_ as you say Commander. I would like that pretty much." she said her spirits lifted up again.

"Well, then. We have to go right here through this door. Follow me, and remember not to touch anything, alright?" Shepard reminded her, not wishing for another stunt.

They passed through another set of doors and arrived into the engineering section where Kenneth and Gaby were busy working on their stations. Kenneth was less than thrilled to see Alice again so soon and almost had a heart-attack when he laid his eyes on her.

"Jesus Christ! Shepard; why did you bring her down here? Do you want us to deal with a reactor meltdown or something?" he exclaimed rather alarmed in that thick accent of his.

"Kenneth, be quiet." Said Gabby; trying to shut her companion's out-of-place comments.

"Oh; c'mon Gabby! She freaks you out just the same as me" replied Kenneth to his partner, still being quite rude with his comments and not getting the hint.

The commander had to intervene "Easy there you two; I just brought Alice with me to show her the sights. She's part of this crew now and like the rest of us, she has to familiarize with the Normandy layout and systems. Or would any of you prefer that she got lost wandering the halls and ended up stumbling in a place where she's not supposed to be. You two had seen how curious she gets at new things; I'll leave it up to you two to imagine what could happen." He said in an authoritative tone, leaving no room for complains.

Kenneth gulped and tugged at his shirt's collar "I see your point commander; if that's the case then I will not take any more of your time. Just make sure she doesn't touch anything, I don't know what we would do if the drive core suddenly starts rolling out of the door" he said before returning to his readings.

That settled, Shepard lead Alice down the corridor and into the Drive Core chamber. Crossing the threshold the young girl was able to see the impressive engine; a giant sphere pulsating with energy. It exuded the same purple-hued aura that Jack released when using her strange and mysterious biotic powers. Alice was speechless at the massive energies that the Drive Core seemed to radiate; she was able to feel it and it made her feel queasy. That was strange now that she thought about it.

Suddenly there was this jolt and the entire ship lurched at one side. It almost made both, Shepard and Alice, to lose their step if it wasn't for the rails that were at both sides of the platform.

"Alice what did you do?" grunted the commander trying to regain his balance.

"I didn't do anything, commander! I was just standing here." She exclaimed, just as surprised like him.

Kenneth shouted from his station "Commander! We're having a massive spike of energy surging out of the Drive Core; the readings are off the damn charts! I can't explain it Shepard; it was stable a minute ago. Damn! Gabby; try re-routing the energy through secondary exhaustion ports" he said, typing furiously on his terminal.

"It's no use, Kenneth" yelled Gabby back just as nervous as his counterpart.

Before anything more could be said, the drive core released a pulse that propelled everybody off their feet. Shepard stumbled down the floor, years of training allowed him to quickly regain his senses. His first thought was to check on his crew and see if they were ok. Kenneth and Gaby seemed to be fine, he could hear them complaining among a gibberish of grunts and groans. But where was Alice? He could not see her anywhere. He peered frantically at his surroundings in search of the girl. He called her name, hoping for an answer.

"Alice! Alice! Where are you? Alice!" Again and again he called for her, but it was a fruitless effort. The girl was gone.

* * *

><p><em>Well there you have it, again, sorry for backing out in my word. But I'm trying to release chapters as fast as I can. If I had tried to put the scene I promised, it would had taken me even more weeks of work before I was able to dub the chapter ready. And we are already at the half of the month and I'm pretty sure none of you would like to wait more time to be able to read each consecutive installment; so…<em>

_Next chapter I'll put the explanation that I owe with no more delays, that's guaranteed. Oh; I'm sure you will be wondering how I'm going to do that, if I had already sent Alice back home to London. Well… That's a plot device that you'll have to wait on your seats before I'll allow anyone a peek on, so, until next time._


	9. But I don't want to wake up just yet!

**Author's note: **Dear lord! I finally managed to finish this chapter. Sorry for the delay, I was sidetracked by other things. I been reading other peoples stories in this site, there's some talent floating around this place. Anyway, with the E3 come and gone I've been making my list for this year's games that I will buy when released. Oh what can I say there's a good bunch in store for us. Bioshock Infinite, Hitman Absolution, Dishonored, Halo 4,X-com: Enemy Unknown (this one is which I want the most) as a veteran gamer that I am I know not to be sway by fanboyism or pre-release expectations. But there's something about this game that makes me all friki. But, Anyhow! Let's start with this thing.

**Disclaimer: **All this belongs to someone –who obviously is not me- who either posses the copyrights or owns/boss around those who does.

**CHAPTER VIII**

**BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP JUST YET**

Alice opened her eyes, groggily with sluggish difficulty. Only to be blinded by the sudden surge of sunshine that overwhelmed her senses. She squinted her eyes as reflex and chirped her discomfort.

Turning her body to escape the blinding light, Alice brushed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand. A quick scan of her surroundings made her realize that she was back at the warehouse in which she had fallen through a hole in the roof while running from the police; on a platform in the second floor to be precise.

She sighed in disappointment "It was just a dream, I should had known. Such a pity it had to end, I was enjoying it very much" she mused to herself.

Fully awaked now, the girl slowly made her way downstairs into the bottom floor and began to look around for a way out of the building. She first tried to have a go at the main doors, but found them barred.

Seeking around for other options, Alice found a broken window that lead to an alleyway at the back of the building. . If she crawled through on her hands and knees Alice believed she would be able to make her escape without hurting herself on the broken glass.

She was about to climb on the sill, when she remembered that she was now a wanted woman. The police may still be searching for her out there. Thinking it to be a good idea to conceal her features, she began to rummage on nearby shelves and containers in search for something that would help her to pass unnoticed.

Despite her efforts, all that she managed to found was a worn, filthy and dusty shawl. It was little more than a tathered rag; clearly not something that she was eager to wear. But beggars cannot be choosers, so she had to make do.

She shook off the piece of cloth out of dust the best she could. The linen must have been gathering grime for years, for it released a surprisingly thick cloud of grey powder that caused her a heavy string of sneezes. Alice cursed inwardly at her luck, complaining at the unfairness of her current predicament.

With the shawl under her arm, she exited the warehouse through the broken window, mindful of not gettting cut on a piece of broken glass. Once outside -and against her best judgment- she donned the old ragged shawl and covered her head with it.

She did not enjoy wearing the garment. It was so dirty… and it smelled. Not to mention it caused her itchiness, but at least it did served its purpose of concealing her features nevertheless. She promptly abandoned the alley and walked into the main street.

Mingling among the crowd, she realized she had reached the entrance to the docks. As expected, there were policemen patrolling around. It didn't seem as if they were actively looking for her; they were rather as if lying in wait, keeping their eyes peeled for anything that they may deem suspicious. Ready for any sign of trouble; Good thing she had been sensible enough to don the shawl, it would keep her hidden from prying eyes as long as she did nothing to draw attention.

Alice knew the docks well; she often came here during the past months in search for work. Inconspicuously, she scurried along the docks until reaching the pier, where she watched the ships that were berthed in there. She decided to take a moment to ponder on her next course of action.

She briefly toyed with the idea of trying to gain passage aboard one of the vessels. But she only carried a modest sum of money inside her purse –That she was wise enough to bring with her, after all she had to buy that bottle of spirits in such short notice, too bad it had to go to waste though- she doubted it would be enough to buy her ticket in, so that option was out of the question.

Still; she could always try to catch a ride as a stowaway, although that idea came with some serious drawbacks. She didn't think it possible to be able to remain hidden indefinitely aboard the confines spaces of a ship. She would be forced to make regular incursions in search for food and drink.

She didn't want to think in what could happen to her if she were to be discovered. A young pretty lady such as herself, trapped inside a ship full of big, stinky and rowdy men in the middle of the ocean, with nowhere to run and who knows for how many months among the seas. She shuddered at the thought.

Well, maybe she was being a little too extreme in her though. Most likely they would just force her to walk the plank. That was almost a guarantee; Mmph...? that only leaved her with the option of trying to work her way aboard a ship.

There had to be many ways for a young lady like her to pull her weight and prove her worth. Mopping decks, cooking, cleaning and such, she had a great deal of experience in that department; seeing as how she had to exert herself by taking multiple jobs at the same time to make sure that the orphanage didn't ran out of money.

But that also leaved her with the issue of being the only woman aboard a ship, and she would be in a more exposed situation. Nah, she was confident that she could deal with anyone who dared to make a pass at her. After all she was well versed in the art of using her wits to dissuade a man's interest in her. Every time she went to visit Nan Sharpe at the Mangled Mermaid, she had to deal with her "_clients" _first; she was very proficient in keeping them at bay.

Oh! Who was she trying to fool? She would never be able to get accepted aboard a ship. She had forgotten how ridiculously superstitious can sailors be, with this goofy belief that having women aboard a ship brings bad luck; Preposterous. She was starting to miss the Normandy. That was understandable, after witnessing such an advanced and elegant vessel; all others looked blase by comparison.

Alice sighed in resignation. She was getting way ahead of herself. She shouldn't worry about leaving the city just yet. There were still matters that had to be dealt with before daring to think on jumping ship.

More specifically; she had to deal with one particular person, Radcliffe. She would not let her family fortune to be seized by that pompous greedy bastard. Alice knew that he would not wait to put his sleazy fingers on it, especially now that her situation was bleak. But she would not allow it, she will not have her inheritance denied from her; even though, with the police chasing after her, her chances to claim what justly belongs to her were now moot.

Well, if she could not claim her family fortune, then she was to make sure no one else could have it either. For her plan to succeed, she needed to get hold over her parent's wills and the documents that marked her as the sole heir, along with the clause that pointed that all the fortune and assets would pass unto Radcliffe in case she was not healthily fit to claim it.

It was decided then; she would have to pay a visit to the good lawyer.

And with that thought she was off again, moving seamlessly among the various stalls that run along the length of the coastal boulevard. Walking closely to one such booth; Alice, quickly and deftly -while the clerk was distracted with some potential customers- procured one of the knifes that were lying around, usually employed to gutter fish and remove their scales.

The blade smelled and the grip was sticky and gooey, it didn't bother her in the slightest. She was used to handle knifes in such conditions. She had, after all, worked in many menial jobs in the past; this even may help her in her devices. People would not be so forthcoming to approach her if she smelled like rancid fish, lessening in some measure the risk of anyone getting too close to recognize her.

At any rate, that would be a side perk. Her real intention for the knife was to ensure that Radcliffe would be in a more agreeable disposition. It was necessary, she knew he would refuse.

The young woman refastened her shawl and slipped into the alleys. It would take her several hours to reach Radcliffe's home, if she moved between shady side streets and alleyways, as to avoid unwanted attention. Fine by her, she would not hurry; it would give her the time to think in the many ways she will deal with the lawyer's unruliness.

* * *

><p>"Ok cat, let's get things straight; shall we?" said shepard, trying hard to keep a cool demeanor. Obviously he was distressed by Alice's disappearance; it was so sudden and so abrupt, he almost ended turning the ship upside down in search of her whereabouts. Like many military leaders, he didn't like it when he lost people under his command. True, Alice was no soldier, but he had made the decision of making her part of his crew; hence he was responsible of her…. And then she went missing without a trace. It was kind of a blow to his sensibilities.<p>

He had put EDI into trying to track the girl, even though he knew it may be a wasted effort. The AI's sensors had already proved useless to take a reading of both Alice and Cheshire, according to EDI they glitched and marked error. But EDI proved quite crafty in his search of the girl; instead of taking notice of what her scanners could perfectly read, the little AI paid attention to the places where her sensors failed. The only place where her scanners collapsed was the infirmary where Cheshire was currently in for the moment.

On the rest of her ship, her readings where running smoothly, except for the occasional bug or calibration glitch that needed to be addressed. This meant that the girl was nowhere to be found inside the ship. This news disconcerted Shepard when he was informed by the AI.

A subsequent search of the ship also revealed nothing. Not a single trace of the girl whatsoever. The commander wanted answers, for this purpose he called an emergency meeting of his ground team in the briefing/communications room; so that they may come up with a course of action.

The best bet was to question Cheshire about this recent enigma; though it was suspected that the feline was not one to give clear responses. If he remembered correctly, the cat Cheshire was usually depicted as a shady character that had the tendency of withholding information; often speaking in riddles and vague hints instead of straight answers. Not in the mood for games, Shepard was being very clear in what the rules of the game would be.

Which bring us to the present: Commander Shepard inside the conference room; backed by his teammates and about to interrogate the Tiger-striped mangy feline.

"You and Allice appeared inside Purgatory; practically out of nowhere, just like that." said Shepard, giving facts in a serious tone. "We don't know where you came from, we don't know exactly how you do the things you can do and we certainly don't know what your intentions are… Now, I like to consider myself an understandable man and Alice didn't struck me in any way as a bad sort of person. In fact, from what I could gather while talking to her; she is a very strong-willed caring young woman. I may have thought her a little weird due to her odd demeanor, but once I got past that, I started to develop a certain liking to her." He mused, thinking about the young maiden. "So I decided to ignore all suspicions regarding the two of you and your motives. I figured you both could be great assets for my team; Hell, your skills are really something else. But my tolerance has a limit and that limit is greatly strained when people suddenly starts vanishing on thin air"

Shepard slammed both fists on the oval table and leaned his body towards the cat; looking him to the eyes intently. "That is not normal; it is not something that should happen to a young girl. So I hope you can understand why I am getting upset when something like that happens inside my _own_ ship." He put emphasis on the word own. "Especially if it has the potential of harming my own crew" he said referring to the drive core overload. "So I would really appreciate if you could shed some light into this mystery by answering me two simple questions. What the _**HELL **_happened? And _**WHERE **_did Alice go?" he demanded with barely concealed anger.

But despite his cross mood and threatening stance, the mangy cat was not fazed in the least. The smile remained and his answer was preceded by a haughty chuckle. "Of course commander; I assume it must be pretty challenging for you to cope with such unusual occurrences. Common minds often seem unable to grasp the idea of the places that Alice treads into." He tilted his head to a side jauntily "To address your question commander. The answer is really simple. She just woke up"

"What do you mean she just woke up?" replied Shepard bewildered by such answer, not believing a word of what he had just heard. "What are you not telling us?"

Cheshire scoffed at the Commander's obstinacy "Do you always believe thay they are hidden meanings behind what other people say?" he questioned with irritation "Sometimes they just mean exactly what they imply. I assure you commander; I'm not fooling you around. I know you don't trust me, I am very aware of my reputation; I confess, I do favor the employ of riddles to convey my words and I reserve the right to mislead whenever it amuses me. I like to give challenges to people and let them to figure out and sort things for themselves; it does make for an entertaining learning experience. But in this particular case, commander, I'm facing all of my cards up on the table." His demeanor turned serious and focused "Shepard; I am being entirely honest with you, something rare from my part, indeed. But what I say is true; Alice has awaked from her dreaming and she is now back, at the old, dull and boring London of the 19th century."

Miranda was unable to hide her skepticism; Odly enough Mordin didn't think that notion to be that outrageous, mumbling through a variety of theories and explanations to himself at a fast pace. It seemed that he was fascinated with the girl's abilities.

"How is that possible?" Miranda questioned in disbelief "She was right next to the commander. Is impossible that she had traveled thousands of light years back to Earth in an instant and at the same time being able to travel hundreds of years back in time, just like that; Time travel is nothing but a groundless theory with no plausible way to be applied in reality. It's the stuff of stories and movies, it only works as a recurrent ploy for works of fiction, the kind that sci-fi authors write about" she stated rather adamantly.

Cheshire sighed in dismay, if he were not so proud; he would be rubbing his temples right now. He quickly took a moment to collect his thoughts, it helped that he took a long breath.

"I will try to the best of my abilities to put it into simpler terms for the sake of all of you." He finally said, being a little too condescending towards Shepard and his team. "Though it will be like trying to explain colors to a blind man. So I don't expect any of you to fully understand what Alice is capable of"

"How so?" Shepard inquired.

"(Sigh) Alice is special, that much has been obvious enough. But what do you don't know is what degree of special she really is." pointed Cheshire, raising a claw.

"Your point being?" replied Miranda with a pushy tone. It only made Cheshire to snap back at her.

"How many young women have you met, that can turn themselves the size of a mouse?"

….

There was no answer to his question, only an uncomfortable silence.

Cheshire smile returned with a vengance, seeing as how Shepard and Co. were unable to rebuke his claims. "I suspected as much." He laconically declared. He would have said more, if it wasn't for Mordin that was showing the signs of a long winded explanation.

"I must agree with Cheshire in this regard, Commander." He began "It is possible for an individual to travel great lengths of distance in a matter of seconds, similarly to the technique Biotic Charge commonly employed by frontline biotic infantry like the Asari Commandos or Alliance Special Forces. In essence; is a replication of a Mass Relay main function of propelling objects through immense distances, only on a much smaller scale. There have been recordings of Vangards traveling hundreds of meters in the span of milliseconds. So theoretically, a highly powerful biotic would be able to travel through several light years away almost instantly. Granted, young Alice is no biotic, but there are some similitudes in their abilities and she already has proved to be quite talented. It is unknown for me to measure how powerful she really is, but I can safely assume that she is in some level never witnessed before. –long sniff- I personally, I'm pretty excited to see what her true limitations are" he replied with a smile, clearly overjoyed about the possibilities of these new findings.

Miranda was still trying to wrap her mind aroud the subject "But how? For that to happen her abilities had to surpass those of every Asari matriarch know to date. How can someone so young be that powerful?" she said with a hint of awe.

Cheshire chuckled in amusement "Well? Allow me to explain if you will" he said, gathering the attention of everyone in the room "Now, you know about wonderland, isn't it?" he asked, and received nods as confirmations "You see Alice was able to create an entire world inside her head, that in itself is a great achivement, but now she has grown in skill tremendously, so much that she is now able to bring snippets of wonderland into the waking world. Truly there is not limit to what Alice could accomplish if she just put her mind to it. Compared to her; we are nothing but specks of dust, floating aimlessly in the void while she's the bright star that burns the most in the sky" he said with vehemency.

"Ok, we get it already!" interrupted Shepard, having enough of Cheshire's allegories "Alice is special, one-of-a-kind person; that much we had already figured it out by ourselves. Seeing as how she does the things she does."

"Oh, really?" Replied the cat smugly while raising an eyebrow."I'm not sure you really understand what that entails, commander. She is the one who gave me life, not only to me but also to the entirety of wonderland. One day, none too different from any other, she had a thought, a random one at that, which she came up for no specific reason at all. But the thought grew and became an idea and that idea turned later into a dream; and from that dream all of wonderland was created. First there was nothing and then we existed because of her… I can't stress enough the amount of talent that is required to perform such a feat. I am because she wills it so; this miscreated facade in front of you" he said motioning to his emaciated appearance "the dreadful looks and disturbing presence, they are the way you see because she wants them to be this way. My whole being, wonderland itself, are nothing but subjects to her whims" said Cheshire with an unbridled passion.

Shepard stayed silent for a minute. He really didn't want it to think in the implications presented by Cheshire's statement. For a girl like Alice to hold that kind of gift… it was beyond him.

He set those thoughts aside and adressed the feline once more "You still haven't answered our question." He pointed out.

The cat waved him off "Questions, questions, questions. You're so full of them, what a bore! How about if you answer some of mine for once, on that note; why is an island like the letter T?" he asked in a mocking demeanor.

"Enough games!" Berated Shepard; slamming his fist in the table surrounding the QEC. "How could she have traveled so fast through two places not only separated by distance, but also by time?" he asked befuddled.

"You're assuming that Alice moves through places, as if it were like walking down the street or strolling through the park." Said the cat eerily "That is only partially correct, commander. And I meant it literally, for it is only a part of her that makes the transition".

Another one of Shepard's companions joined the conversation; this time was Jacob, who couldn't keep on with so much bizarreness. "What are you saying?" he asked to the feline "Is Alice able to be in two places at once?" he raised 2 fingers as to make his point.

"Sort of" replied the macilent beast "Her mind is the one that wanders and traverses through the most grandiose places you could ever imagine; her body on the other hand, is just an empty vessel that remains behind"

Miranda again voiced her disbelief "Are you now implying that she can make astral projections of herself with her mind?" she inquired with a stumped expression "And that she can make said projection travel through space and time? Of all ridiculous explanations; you have to come out with the one that sounds the most ludicrous" she berated.

"It's also not possible for cats to speak; yet here I am. Also! how can you explain that I can do this?" replied Cheshire haughtily before he started to disappear right into thin air with a crazy laugh. Slowly, piece by piece he started to fade. Only his stripes, smile and eyes were left; soon those were gone too and only a floating disembodied smile remained, mocking at everyone by his mere impossibility.

He shortly reappeared after making his point. Once more there were no rebuttals to his claims; so he kept on speaking. "So you see- it is not as ludicrous as you may think. There's nothing that Alice could not do if she so desires it. Forget any notion of reality or sanity when you're around her, she's a walking impossibility. Things happen around her, because she makes them happen. Her light burns and outshines the stars themselves; unfortunately that light tends to attract all manner of attention, especially from the envious, the wicked and the simpleton. It's a sad thing that there exists people that do not wish her to take flight and instead, they do all they can to clip her wings out of jealousy. People can be so vain; Fools all of them! For meddling in things they do not understand." He cursed with great scorn.

Shepard was surprised by that last piece of info. "What are you talking about? Has someone done something to her?" he inquired, worried for the girl who was now under his charge; the fact that she gave him the slip notwithstanding.

The feline replied with a dry laugh. "That would be an understatement. Mmmm…" he mused and brought a paw to his chin in thought "Tell me commander. What did you thought of Alice when you first laid your eyes on her. I know she and I do not have the most beauteous of looks. So I wonder what crossed through your mind when you encountered us. Did you find us grim? Pitiful? Deranged?... Disturbing?"

The commander was momentarily off balance due to the sudden change of topic. Taking notice of Cheshire's body language, Shepard knew the cat was up to something. He decided to indulge him just to see what the cat was keeping under his sleeve, so to speak. "I admit, she does have this creepy feeling about her, like when you look her into the eyes and you only see madness and a promise of great violence bubbling underneath. But that is only for first appearances, I didn't mind much since I'm used to deal with dangerous individuals on a daily basis and she grows rapidly on you once you take time to know her. But enough about her looks; I know you're trying to point at something in here, so spit it out." He ordered.

The cat chuckled in amusement "You are a bright one. Very well I shall stop beating around the bush if that's what you want. It was never Alice's intention to give us this measly appearance. It is because of the interference of others that we have ended wearing such ghastly visage. This is the result of other people harassing her in both body and mind. She has been made an outcast by society because of her gifts, the frivolity and cruelty that I've seen others display to her because they cannot understand how marvelous she truly is, is enough to disgust even me. She has no place among the _civilized _world" he said with spurn.

Shepard was mildly appalled by this new revelation. He had suspected that something may have occurred to Alice, after witnessing how nervous she was on being in the infirmary. But that people had actively seeking to bring her harm? It was despicable. "Did people been trying to hurt her?" he asked in all seriousness.

Cheshire didn't immediately answer; he shut into himself for a moment with a forlorn look in his face. "Sometimes" he finally replied, half lost in thought.

The commander didn't like this news, if the girl was in the danger then he really need it to find a way to bring her back to the Normandy. But, if Cheshire was telling the truth, how could he bring someone from 300 years in the past to this era? This entire weird situation looked as if it was brought out of a flick.

He suddenly had a revelation. "Wait a minute? If what you say is true; if Alice is the reason of your existence. Then why you remain here with us while she's gone?"

That question was enough to put the cat out of his reverie "You know; that is an excellent question." He conceded "In truth, I have no real answer for that. I'm afraid; I'm as puzzled as you are about this occurrence Commander. When she left, by all means, I should have gone with her too. But, it seems as if there's something anchoring me to this place" replied the feline intrigued.

"Anchoring you?" ascertained Shepard "You mean you're stuck here with us?" He inquired.

"No Commander" denied the feline "I am not limited only to this plane. I could leave and return to wonderland at any time I may feel like it. What I mean is that there is something that is allowing me to retain my influence in this place. It is as if some unknown power is keeping the door open for me to pass at my leisure" he said musing about the issue.

"Hold it" said the commander "Are you saying that there is a gate connecting the Normandy to the London of the late 19th century?" he asked, falling again in the realm of skepticism.

Cheshire frowned a little. "Not to London, Shepard. But to wonderland" he said.

Once more Miranda interrupted "What? Impossible! Wonderland is an imaginary land that exists only in dreams…" she yelled in exasperation, but then she paused for a moment, as if taking in consideration all she has seen thus far. Oddly enough there was this sudden strange glint to her eyes and an eager expression plastered on her face "Is it possible- can it be true that there is a way for us to reach wonderland?" she said in a low voice, fascinated with the idea.

The cat just stared at her with an uncaring expression "Of course there is" he huffed "The fact that something may only be a dream, does not make it any less real. It only means that it exists somewhere else"

Jack shifted a little in her place with discomfort. She had kept quiet since the beginning of the conversation because she was still having a hard time dealing with the memories of her trip to wonderland during her slumber. She had hoped that all she had experienced would had been just a dream, but discovering that Alice and Cheshire had followed her into purgatory, had leaved her with more than her fair share of rattled nerves. She was still a little recalcitrant about that issue, and now having Cheshire hinting that Wonderland is a real place and that they may be a way to reach it… It was disconcerting for her.

Shepard kept pressing Cheshire for more information. "Let's get this straight, you're saying that there is a gateway connecting the Normandy with wonderland –a place that exists only in dreams-. So what kind of gateway are we talking about, is it like some kind of portal or something?" he inquired.

Cheshire tilted his head to a side in thought and pondered that question "More or less. Usually the way to wonderland is barred to all, save Alice and certain- Higher powers. Normally it is just Alice as the one that decides who is or isn't allowed to enter Wonderland. But recently there have been cracks, and unexpected visitors have been seeping into. But this doesn't feel like something like that, No! This feels more controlled, more stable, like some kind of treshold or passage".

"mmmph" Shepard mused "You know all this talk about doors and gateways, makes me remember something. Didn't Alice mention something about a key precious to her?" In that moment, both the Commander and Cheshire felt as if struck by lightning due their dawning realization. Both whipped their heads towards Jack and gave her a fixed stare.

"What?" exclaimed the convict, not liking the way she was being stared.

"Jack, do you still have that Key that Alice was asking from you?" Shepard asked to her.

"Yeah… What of it?" replied the bald woman.

"Could you please show it to us?" requested the commander.

Jack Shrugged "Fine; but I don't know what good it will do" she said before scrambling in her pockets and pulling out the key. The small piece of metal shone brightly with a sparkling piercing light and then it suddenly exploded in a brief, but intense, luminous pulse that covered the entire room in white. It only lasted for about less than a second, but it was enough to force everyone to close their eyes. Obviously, the biotic woman was briefly blinded as she wasn't expecting so sudden overload to her senses.

"Ah! Fuck! What the hell" she exclaimed in surprise and rubbed her eyes in pain, trying to shake off her discomfort.

Chesire though, became intrigued even more about the little piece of metal after this development. "Now, now dear Jack, No need for such coarse language; please allow me to take a closer look at it. I believe this may give us a so much needed breakthrough to this mistery" He directed the biotic woman in a vaguely malevolent tone while staring at her with his maddening gaze.

Slowly with some hesitation; the ex-convict aproached the feline and set the little piece of iron on the table in front of him. The cat gave a curious glance at the item, pondering about something only he knew about. He grasped the key within his paws and started to examinate the impromptu jewelry with scrutiny. From time to time he released some unintelligible mumbles and whispers under his breath, whatever he was doing, it was clear that he wasn't keen to share it with the others.

"Ah yes! I believe this may do the trick" he finally declared with pride before doing… something? To the key; when asked later, none of the people present would be able to accurately describe what they had witnessed the cat doing.

There was this distortion in reality, their surroundings streamed and flowed as if they had become like water, the key being the focal point of all of it. Then there were these tendrils made of dust or particles swirling and strechting around the key. And then the distortion exploded upwards, flooding the ceiling with a multitude of colors.

First, there was nothing they could discern from it, just a haze of rapidly stirring bright hues. But then an image started to coalesce and they were able to see colors and things beyond their wildest imagination.

Through his stupor, Shepard was able to release a faint whisper "Is that?"

"Yes Commander" Finished the cat for him, through chuckles. His profile obscured by the light surrounding him, giving him an eerie prescence. "Wonderland!" he said before entering in a disturbing fit of laugh.

* * *

><p><em>Got nothing to say really, I'm very busy, so I hope you all liked it. Oh yes! Wait a sec. I've reading the reviews and I got to say. You people been pretty much hitting all my highlights. At this rate I will have no more surprises in store for future chapters. But yes, many of those ideas have already been considered beforehand and worked on how to integrate them with the story.<em>

_Almost all of wonderland main cast will become recurring characters in this story, just as Cheshire. Yes, I want them on missions with Shepard, So? But yes I been wondering and dabbling in several ideas, most of them crack. Oh yes, they will be a mouthful to have around. But whatever, I'll reveal more in future chapters._

_A quick note. I have re-uploaded this chapter to adress certain misspellings that have been brought to my attention from several readers. Thanks for pointing them out._


	10. Hand over the goodies

**Author's note: **Dudeskies, I have bad news for all of you. I don't know if you remember, but I store all my stories and progress in an USB, Well guess what? My stupid brother broke it in half. That was last week, I can stress how much _**Pissed**_ I am. All the progress that I had achieved during the last month for this chapter, gone and just when I was about to upload it, I just needed to wrap up the ending –of both the chapter and the scene of Alice confronting Radcliffe- All my hard work gone, Alongside my notes and source material. Now I have to look for them all over again!

But here's the thing I didn't wanted any more delays for this update, so since the start of this week I began the rewriting of this chapter. Obviously his length is nowhere near as it used to be. It was longer than 11 pages and this one is barely 4 pages long. But I said fuck it, the story is not progressing fast enough for my liking, so let's release whatever is that I have complete at the moment to keep it rolling forward.

I've decided that I'll no longer be writing moderately long chapters that take me 1 or 2 months to have ready. Instead I'll be releasing snippets of whatever progress I manage to achieve to make sure the story keeps going on. Let me tell you why; well for this chapter, I had Alice confrontation with Radcliffe, then Shepard's thoughts of the events in last chapter, then Alice back in wonderland having a chit-chat with Cheshire in how to return back to the Normandy, then back with Shepard in the middle of Grunt recruitment and then Alice hooking up with him and both finishing the rest of the mission. BUT ALL OF THAT IS GONE! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKK KKKKKKKKKKK!

Frustration doesn't begin to describe the feeling.

Anyway, right now I'm just delivering Alice confrontation with Radcliffe, since it was made in a rush, you may feel it a little plain and way too fast-paced. Hell, I don't even know if the dialogues and behaviors are in character. But I don't care, as I said I want to move the story forward. So please bear it with me. I don't want people nagging me about it being too short or if the characters seem OC. Any grammatical errors on the other hand, send me mp's to tell me about them alongside the proper spelling so I can make the corrections. With nothing else for the moment, let's keep this rolling.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 9 **

**HAND OVER THE GOODIES**

It was late in the afternoon when Alice finally arrived at Radcliffe's residence. The dimly rays of the setting sun painted the city of London in a golden orange hue. From her location on a nearby alley, Alice, surreptitiously -as to not draw unwanted attention- peered on both sides of the, almost, desolate street to ensure she would not be spotted by prying eyes.

Fast and light as a ghost, she emerged from her hiding spot and crossed to the other side of the street; quickly she went through the metal gateway and gained access inside Radcliffe's front lawn. The young maiden made a bee-line towards the main porch and tried to open the door as silently as she could, unwilling to make her presence known. Unfortunately for Alice and despite her best efforts; the old mahogany door opened with a loud creak that resonated through the whole interior of the residence, making her nerves cringe as result. So much for taking the stealthy approach, it would seem.

Luckily for her, there was no immediate response to her slip. Seeing the lack of reaction to her -not so quiet- entrance, it would appear that the old lawyer either wasn't at home or he didn't notice the sudden break of silence. Alice opted for the second option and presumed that the fat miser must be locked in his study, going through his notes or working in a case or another, as usual, hence why he didn't get wind of her brief lapse in stealth; fine by her.

She proceed to go up the stairwell, there Alice laid her eyes on the numerous artifactsthat Radcliffe had on display, hanging from the walls and circling the stairwell. Treasures and relics from faraway lands on the east, time and again Alice had to bear the boastings of the fat lawyer on how he managed to acquire such valuable objects, praising his cleverness of employing less than reputable means to satiate his obsession with the east. Although he usually didn't phrase it like that, he preferred to say that he made use of the employ of bold and ambitious entrepreneurs. But he didn't fool anybody; no sane person would depart from such marvelous treasures willingly, only to sell them to the highest bidder.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Alice made her way towards the lawyer's office. She began to hear the faint sound of scribbling when she approached the door. Meaning that Radcliffe was, indeed, locked in his office; she allowed herself a moment of self-satisfaction at her accurate guess before turning the knob.

The Lawyer was surprised at her sudden entrance "Alice? What you're doing here, girl? It's quite late for visits." he said from his seat behind his desk, leaving his work on the various documents that were scattered around him. Oddly enough, Alice old stuffed rabbit was sitting close to the lawyer on one of the desk's corners.

Alice closed the door behind her before replying "I'm sorry to bother you at this hour Mr. Radcliffe. But I found myself in dire need of your help"

"Yes, I know." he said setting down his pen "I have heard the news Alice. The police came by in the morning and informed me of what you did. They said you killed old Mrs. Witless" he said with suspicion.

Alice sighed, faking weariness. She already knew that this encounter with Radcliffe will only have one conclusion, but for now she would play along. She had all the time in the world. "It wasn't my intention. She tried to hurt me and I was scared. All I could think of was that I wanted to get her off me. So I kicked her… I never expected that she would fall off the roof" she said pretending to be distressed, babbling a little to make her act more believable.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing that you came to me for help." Said Radcliffe, removing his glasses to clear them a little with his handkerchief "If what you say is true; then I think we could pledge self-defense to keep you out of the Gaol. But sadly, this doesn't look well for your probation"*****

"They are going to send me back to Rutledge, don't they?" said Alice, visibly stiffening, her voice getting a hard edge.

"Now, now, I'm sure it would not be that bad. Just a small time under observation, to ensure you are not traumatized after such harrowing experience" Replied Radcliffe in an attempt to calm her down.

Alice kept rejecting that idea however. "No, I fear if I go back to the Asylum I would never be able to come out again. Running seems like a more appealing option"

The old man released a tired sigh "C'mon Alice, think for a moment in what you're doing. Running from your problems would not help you to solve anything. On the contrary it would only make them grow even more. It would be best if you surrender yourself to the police" he advised in an almost condescending tone.

But Alice was stubborn in her decision "I'm sorry Mr. Radcliffe, but I'm afraid I'll have to insist" she said moving her head sideways "So if you won't mind? I would really appreciate that you give me back my parent's wills alongside my rabbit. I'm in a hurry so I need to be on my way"

Radcliffe's hand, absentmindedly settled on top of the stuffed animal in a possessive way. The old man was not willing to agree with Alice's request "What are you talking about?" for a moment he was stupefied by the young woman request, but then he regain his coolness and grew displeased "How dare you?" He replied back to her with annoyance "With what nerve you dare to come here and demand that I surrender…" but his tantrum was abruptly stopped when Alice drew out her knife from her clothes in a swift motion and slide it down the Lawyer's throat. It was so fast, so sudden that his brain had difficulty to keep up with the changing situation and required a few seconds for the whole gravity to sink in. And when it did, it came in the form of a cold shiver on his spine and a horrible feeling of dread setting in the pit of his stomach.

"A… Alice? What?-What is this?—what are you doing girl?" he gasped in desperation with barely contained fear.

"Sorry, Wilton… But you're assuming that you have any say in this matter when you're not" the girl said all too sweetly. Her features then became abruptly harsh "Let us be honest for a moment Radcliffe. You never really cared a dime about me; you only pretended to care because of my family money. I could tell, even a blockhead would had taken notice" She stated, the image of her family and Nan appearing in his mind, and oddly enough that of Shepard, which leaved her a little surprised "You were never really much gentle in your attempts to goad me into making big expenses, as I recall" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Alice… please that's not true… It's always been my job to safeguard you and watch over your interests" the old man whispered, eying the knife under his chin nervously.

"Oh! Spare me the excuses" Alice snapped back, not convinced in the least. "If you really cared about my wellbeing, you would not be so adamant to send me back to the Asylum. For all your pretensions at ignorance, I know you're not so blind to the things that happen inside those walls" She pressed the knife even harder into Radcliffe's skin, almost drawing blood, eliciting a whimper of pain from the lawyer's throat. "Now I would advise you to be so kind as to comply. That way I can be off sooner and we may both be able to leave this nasty little affair behind us"

Despite his serious predicament, the fat lawyer was still not willing to give into Alice's demands and tried once more to persuade her "Please Alice! I beg you to reconsider! Cease this madness and…" but once more his ramblings were cut short. This time in a more brutal fashion because Alice, in one swift motion, used her knife to nail his left hand on the desk surface. Waves of pain exploded from the old man's hand, but he was frozen by shock and unable to scream. Only pitiful shrieks were all that was able to escape from his throat at first, and then after his vocal cords began to respond once more, the lawyer erupted in a fit of desperate screams.

Alice allowed him a few seconds of panic to indulge him, but she quickly grow bored of his bellowings. So she mercilessly leaned her weight over the knife's handle to force the fat lawyer to shut up "Now, I hope this little demonstration was enough to prove the conviction of my words" she whispered in his ear "I expect you are willing to follow my commands now? It would be much easier for you if you did. Otherwise I may have to get creative" she threatened, playing with the knife's grip by making twisting motions that caused the blade to vibrate.

"Alice!… Please!" cried Radcliffe through clenched teeth; sweating profusely, bead after bead fell from his forehead and trailed all the way down his neck.

Alice response was to completely give a twist to the knife in her grip. This elicited a new wave of screams from the Lawyer. "I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!" He managed to cry through his hysterics.

Alice perked up immediately at that response "Okey-Dokey" she said with a happy face and proceed to remove the knife from Radcliffe's hand. The fat lawyer whimpered again at feeling the sting and immediately jerked his injured hand back to him; he used his other healthy hand to press his handkerchief on the wound.

"Well don't you just stand there, Chop-Chop! Carry on with it!" Alice ordered quite pushily.

The old man didn't replied and instead he just focused on following her orders. He rose from his seat with difficulty and moved towards the framed picture on the end wall of his study with an air of defeat; Alice following behind him to ensure he dared not to try any trick. He set the paint aside to reveal a safe on the wall, Very cliché.

Radcliffe made the usual turns on the dial to unlock the safe and soon enough it was left wide open. He promptly collected the requested documents and hand them over to Alice. "There you have it" he said with disdain "Hope you're happy now. Now get out here and leave me be" he demanded, tending back to his wound.

"No need to tell me twice" she replied giving a quick scan over the documents to check their authenticity "I've worn out my welcoming anyway. Don't worry I'll show myself to the door" She spun around back to the exit, her business here done.

Yet there were still a couple of things to take care off first. She went back to Radcliffe's desk and cut off the telephone line with her knife, that way she ensured that the old man did not call the police after she was gone. She was sure that Radcliffe would eventually tip her off to the cops, but the longer he delayed, the better it was for her. She then proceed to collect her rabbit, but stopped and turned to address Radcliffe one last time, just when she was about to grab the fluffy creature leaving her hand hovering over the rabbit's head.

She released a sigh before speaking "You know Wilton, despite the way our relationship has come to an end. I do not want us to part ways in such awful circumstances. I never wished any harm to befall over you, yes hard to believe after I've just stabbed you. I had no choice really; you tried to take the hard gained earnings of my family away from me. You became greedy so I had to step in. But there was once a time when I cared about you, as a friend, as someone to look up to, as an exemplar and I believe you too truly cared for me at some point. But somehow we became apart and turned distant, and then this… I blame my inheritance for what has happened; it has brought me nothing but trouble since day one."

Alice completely turned and looked at the older lawyer straight to his eyes "But is useless to lament over the past. I just want you to know that I store no harsh feelings for you, only pity. And I hope you see the errors of your ways and return to the path of rectitude. Goodbye Mr. Radcliffe, I wish you a long and happy life, we will never see each other again. Have a nice evening." And with that she grabbed her bunny and exit through the door, leaving the old injured man alone with his thoughts.

She ran without knowing for how long, the only thought in her mind was to get away as far as she could from Radcliffe's home. She only stopped when she realized that somehow she had reached one of the strolling cruises that ran along the Thames River. Seeing that it was a little late, she decided to look for a place where to spend the night. She opted to try one of the aqueducts that ended pouring their streams on the river, seeing as they were the closest that she could think of as a safe spot.

She quickly made her way down on one of the moats and entered inside one of the big tunnels that conformed London's main sewer system. What a pleasant smell did she discovered in there. Whatever cravings she had to grab something to bite for having spent a whole day without eating anything, were gone the moment her nostrils became assaulted by such disagreeable smell.

For a moment she considered the idea of turning back and search for another place, but she was tired of an entire day of walking and running, and had not the strength to carry on further. This sewer gave her the so much needed protection from the police, which was essential if she wanted to doze off. So without further ado, she plopped over a reasonable dry corner, but just when she was about to be taken by the sweet embrace of dream. The rabbit in her arms suddenly decided to became quite animated.

"You're always taking me to the nicest of places" he said with heavy sarcasm "First the Asylum and now a foul and stinky little sewer. Oh! Joy of joys" the little puppet said pointing at his surroundings with a pudgy arm "And you're late- as always, sure you like to take your sweet time. I was getting so tired of putting up with that fat grubber attitude. Has anybody told you that punctuality is a virtue?"

That was the last thing Alice became aware of, before she was enveloped in darkness. Finally gaining some rest and leaving behind the waking world...

only to return back to wonderland.

* * *

><p><strong>*<strong>I really don't know if people that have been released from an Asylum have probation time. I guess they must, or if not I'm sure there must be a survey and observation time over the patient to help him in his acclimatization at returning to society.

_OK, there you have it. I hope it was reasonable entertaining, I had many troubles in this part because I suffered from writer's block and couldn't think well in how to unfurl this section. The fact that I lost all my progress and had to write it in a rush didn't do wonders either. But I hope it was of your liking, sorry if it wasn't. As I said gotta keep the show going on. _

_Hope to read your reviews and be on the lookout for the next snippets I'll release next week. That's right next week. I work much better when I just focus over the little pieces. Writing a 10k words chapter long, makes me nervous and giddy and gives me so much stress that I get mind-blocked with such frequency. But worrying only in something little makes me feel relaxed and allows me to pay attention to details, because I don't have to worry in anything else. So have a nice weekend and I'll read you lot next week._


	11. Here we go again

**Author's note: **Well as I promised, here's the next snippet. By the way I've been replaying the games and it seems Alice is pretty well aware that the Lewis Carroll's book that tells of her adventures on wonderland, does exists. She even has a copy of the book. The first game begins and ends with the book in Alice's possession, I suppose the developers made some changes to the timeline to ensure that the book already existed before Alice was sent to Rutledge, because the book was first printed in 1865 and the fire that destroyed Alice home chronologically occurred in 1863 and she was sent to the Asylum in November 1864 and the second game occurs in 1875 within a year after her release. So I thought that she was not aware that Mr. Dodgson wrote a book of her adventures because of this, but she does know. But I also suspected that she didn't knew about the sequel "_Through the looking glass"_ because it was released in 1871. but it seemed she does or so I think, I don't know. Pages and snippets from the book were visible during the FMV's of the first game.

Anyway, I'm gonna have to backtrack a little and make some changes to previous chapters to implement this lore and depict Alice being aware of the book and also having a copy of it, so I'll have to make some minor changes in some dialogues to fit this trend.

Also! other thing that was bothering me was, what procedure was Alice afraid off during her stay in the Asylum. I just confirmed it was trepanning, it appears in bold letters over a door when you're about to enter inside one of the ward rooms during Alice's hallucination of going back to the Asylum in Madness Returns. I've seen that the runnning trend around these parts was that Alice has always been afraid of lobotomies. but that impossible because lobotomies were first implemented in the 1950's.

But I also been checking the deleted material for Madness Returns and in there they were depicted several forms in wich Alice could die in-game. one of them was an _experimental _lobotomy. That lighted my bulb, because theory and implementation are two different things. Is not like nowadays when you have an idea or theory an you can implemented in a relatively short amount of time due to the sharing of information.

No in the past was different, often new ideas took decades, even lifetimes before being fully implemented. Normally after a tortuous time of trials an errors. So experimental Lobotomies during Alice time is a possibility. Obviously none of them would be successful. But this gives me more ideas to work with and also more things to change in previous chapters.

Very is all, enjoy this update. By the way the year that the events of Mass Effect 2 happen is 2185 if you want to know.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 10**

**HERE WE GO AGAIN**

Commander Shepard grabbed his M-5 Phalanx and began to inspect it. He was making a last minute check-up over his equipment while he, alongside Mordin and Jack, were waiting inside the Kodiak shuttle that was on route towards the planet Korlus, with the intention of recruiting the warlord Okeer. The Normandy had finally reached his destination and he had given the order to carry out this mission, despite the events that had transpired in the last few hours.

After Cheshire opened the gateway to wonderland –he still couldn't believe that the place was real, even after seeing it himself, it seems Alice was telling the truth after all of whom she was- several of his companions were eager to jump in and take a look of the place. But he soon stopped them and forced them to stand down. He wasn't keen to the idea exploring through an unknown place without the proper preparation first. Seriously, he was used to strange and dangerous situations- like, single-handedly staving off a full-scale slaver invasion and raid over a defenseless colony, persecuting a rogue spectre that had an army of crazy robots at his beck and call through half the galaxy, storming mercenaries fortress on a daily basis, fighting supposedly extinct man-size killer insects inside of a glacier, even fighting against a ginormous million years old plant with mind controlling powers while ramming first through her horde of zombies. All of that was fine; he could handle it without breaking a sweat. No problem! But entering inside a place that was supposedly created for an old children-rhymes book? That only existed in the collective unconscious of humanity. He didn't know how to deal with that.

Of course it wasn't that easy to dissuade his companions without making some kind of effort. It was surprising to the see Miranda –the usually collected and stoic Cerberus officer- dropping all notion of decorum and starting acting like a little girl who didn't want to miss a chance to ride the merry-go-around; it was disconcerting to say the least. He eventually managed to convince her to drop that idea and reminded her that they had a more pressing mission to complete first.

The look of pained disappointment that marred her face for a second before she pulled herself together, made the commander feel sorry for having to pop her bubble. But it was necessary if he wanted to reign down his crew and getting them back on track. He promised them that they would later deal with this issue after they had taken cared first of their mission on Kolrus.

Shepard was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of EDI chiming through the shuttle speakers. "Shepard; a situation has arisen inside the Normandy"

The commander sighed in dismay at that news; he would have rubbed his temples if he weren't examining a weapon in his hands. "What is it EDI?" he inquired.

"Cheshire has left the ship, commander. He mentioned that he was going to return to wonderland and wait for Alice in there. Executive Lawson tried to prevent him from leaving the Normandy, but there wasn't much she could do to stop him in the end. He completely disappeared a moment later and his anomaly dropped out from all my scanners. I haven't been able to locate it ever since."

Despite the urgency of such news, Shepard couldn't manage to feel surprised on the least. He had expected the cat to leave at any given moment to go in search of his… Master? Owner? Ruler? Mistress? Friend? Pal? Whatever Alice is to him. Regardless, he wasn't all that worried, after all he still had Alice's key in his possession. The young woman had proved that the key was important to her, for some reason, when she pursued Jack and asked that it be returned to her, so logic dictated that Alice would be back for the key at least that was his hope; otherwise they do will have to make an incursion inside wonderland in search for the young woman.

He decided to set those thoughts aside for the moment and replied to the A.I. "its fine EDI, I suspected something like this would happen. I'll deal with it once I return to the ship. Tell the crew to return to their posts and continue with their work as usual. Just keep an eye over the situation and inform me if there's any new development" he said, not taking his attention away from the weapon he was checking-up.

"Will do Shepard, logging you out" chimed EDI's voice over the speakers before fading away. The only acknowledgement from the commander was the sound of a Thermal clip being set inside its chamber.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile in Wonderland.<em>

"It's been a while since we last spoke rabbit. It was about time you showed up" Said Alice, she and the white rabbit were back inside wonderland and were currently standing over a domino chip in the Vale of tears.

"What would you possible know about time, seeing as how you're so fond of squandering your own, Alice" accused the misshapen rabbit with a huff.

"I have my reasons" replied the young maiden with indignation, folding her arms.

"Reasons are useless in this place, if you remember" rabbit reminded her in his odd tone of voice "No time for chit-chat I'm afraid. I'm late as it is and your presence is required somewhere else" he said frantically.

"You know about Shepard and the Normandy, I presume?" guessed Alice. "Where are they? I don't see the commander or the ship around here in wonderland." she asked peering at her surroundings.

"Of course they're not here" replied the rabbit rather brusquely "How would they? They're not a part of wonderland after all" he stated with condescension.

That answer caught Alice by surprise "Not a part of wonderland?" she exclaimed astonished "How is that possible. I was so sure that they were after I woke up and realized they had been just another part of my hallucinations"

"Have you been forgetting yourself again?" scolded the white fluff with mild contempt "Didn't Cheshire told you that even if, your newfound friends were just part of a dream, they were not from one of your own. You cannot expect that by simply returning to wonderland you'll find them sitting, waiting for you in here. Not even we are that mellow." he said waving Alice off.

"Yes that is true, it's usually I who has to go traipsing around looking for all of you unruly creatures" said Alice taking her hands to her hips in a scolding stance. "So, I imagine you're going to take me back to Shepard now" she all but ordered.

"What? No!" declared rabbit "That's Cheshire's job, not mine. He's the only one who knows the way, after all"

Alice wasn't all that thrilled by that answer "That cat!" she said derisively "Am I to expect he'll guide me there without mislead or trickery. Often do his directions lead me through places where I hadn't wanted to end."

"You can say a lot of things to describe Cheshire. Most of them would be true. But tardiness would not be among them" said rabbit pulling out his watch from a pocket in his coat. He transfixed his attention almost entirely towards said object "He should be arriving…. Right about now!"

True to rabbit's words, the cat materialized in front of them both; gracing them with the sight of his ever present smile.

"Ah! There you are Alice. I see you've managed to reunite with rabbit at last. Tell me; How's that old wretched ball of fluff been these days?" asked the cat with sardonic glee.

"Oh shut it, you withered sack of bones" replied rabbit clearly not in the mood to be listening to Cheshire's jibes. He spoke back to Alice "You deal with him, I've done my part. Have to go now, no time to waste, no time to waste at all. I've got to run or I'll miss the train" he said not even waving a goodbye before jumping off the chip they were sitting on and disappearing among the brush, Leaving Alice alone with Cheshire.

"Well cat, I'm ready for you to take me back" She said beaming a happy face.

"That's good. Take you back where?" The cat asked tilting his head to the side, faking innocence.

"Don't play dumb!" Alice warned, not in the mood for games "You know that I have to return back to the Normandy"

"Why do you want to go back there? Have you lost your interest in wonderland already?" asked the skinny feline flicking an ear and raising an eyebrow.

"No of course not, my wonderland will always be special to me. But I was having such a magnificent time on the Normandy, gazing at all those stunning inventions." Replied Alice allowing herself a moment of remembrance of her time on the Normandy "And besides, I still have to get back my key" she pointed out. "I have this feeling, deep in my gut that compels me to look for it. It doesn't let me to be idle."

"Really! What kind of feeling? Tell me more about it" Cheshire inquired.

"I don't know. I feel as if something is pulling me towards unknown directions" Alice replied taking a hand to her brow.

"Mmph!" Cheshire mused "Perhaps you should delve more into this feeling, then." he advised, tossing a shrewd look towards the British lady.

"What good would that do?" Alice replied back seemingly in annoyance.

But Cheshire pressed on "Trust your instincts Alice; they'll give you the answer you seek"

Alice still wasn't much convinced, but decided to give it a try despite her doubts. After all, what she had to lose? She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts inward and around the feeling that was swelling inside of her. It was an odd mixture of anxiousness, grief and longing. Not really surprising, since the key was the only possession she had of her beloved sister, the only thing to remember her by. Being apart from it leaved her with a hole in her insides that demanded to be filled. Only by getting back her key would she be whole again, but she did not have it and that hurt her deep.

She could almost visualize the little piece of iron in her mind and felt a tug as result, as if something was trying to show her the way that would reunite her back to her memento. Perhaps there was some truth to Cheshire words after all, she let herself be swept by the emotion, let it guide her actions and then…

**SHLOOOOOOOMP!**

A swirling vortex opened right in front of the two companions. A revolving kaleidoscope of slipping greens, yellows and purples that rotated without trouble a couple of feet above the ground.

Alice blinked in surprised at this sudden development; she took a moment to scrutinize the newly-created rift in reality that was placidly floating in front of her, content simply of existing. She tossed a glance that was dripping with suspicion, towards Cheshire "You knew this was going to happen, don't you?" she accused.

"I had my suspicions, yes." Answered the cat shamelessly, not sorry in the least.

Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes "Will this portal take me back?" She asked to the incorrigible feline.

"Maybe, maybe not, possibly; how should I know? I'm not the one who thought that gateway into existence. His workings are as unfamiliar to me as they are to you. But when the path is problematical consider a leap of faith." Cheshire said not really convincing the young girl very much "Don't fret Alice, I'm sure it would get you where you want to go, eventually."

Alice glanced at him dubiously, not impressed by the cat's answer "So am I to jump blindly into the unknown, my destination uncertain and odds not much favorable either? - Business as usual it is then." She said before making her way towards the portal, resolutely.

The cat idly watched her take a few steps, before speaking again "Are you sure you want to go dressed like that?" he pointed out with boredom.

The girl stopped and swiveled back at him "What's wrong with my dress? I see nothing bad about it" said Alice scrutinizing her gown for any unseemliness.

"Indeed, there's nothing wrong. If you want to have your rear handed to you, that is." Scoffed Cheshire demeaningly "Remember last time? How you were unable to topple that mechanical monstrosity or failing to break through your enemies more tough defenses?"

Alice spared a thought about that statement "I had forgotten all about it, truthfully. I was so engrossed by the marvels inside the Normandy that it must have slipped my mind. What should I do to improve my odds?" she inquired.

"If you want your arguments to carry the right punch; make sure to be properly dressed for the occasion" was Cheshire cheeky reply.

"Properly dressed you say?" Alice said pensively, rubbing her chin with her thumb and index "Yes I think I have just the right outfit that'll do"

With a flick of her wrist, Alice dress began to change. The familiar style of blue gown with white apron was discarded and in his stead a red and white chess pattern emerged, this new dress had a very curious top, instead of a formal blouse, there was some kind of armor that had the form of a red chess piece, the shoulders were covered by a small scale replica of two horses, one for each shoulder, one completely white, the other completely red. They seemed to represent both knight pieces of chess. Strangely though Alice's irises had changed in their coloration too, instead of the emerald green, they were now of a faint violet color.

"Purrrrrrfect, you'll make a killing with that dress on" Cheshire purred in approval.

Satisfied with her new selection of attire, Alice was now ready to venture through the portal. "Aren't you coming along?" she asked to her feline companion.

"No! I think I'll sit this one out. Too much excitement wears me down too much, too fast. I was hardly able catch my breath last time." Cheshire said taking a paw to his chest in fake exhaustion and pretended to be running out of breath "Not to mention how messy things really got. I still haven't been able to fully clean the blood off my claws" he licked his blood-stained claws with glee.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Alice growled in annoyance "So typical of you to find excuses" she muttered under her breath. But took a moment to breathe down and settle her nerves "Very well" she said addressing Cheshire one last time "I'm willing to let you get away with this, for now. But should I stumble upon any kind of trouble, I expect you to answer my summons and lend me a hand willingly. Or paw in your case." she then whirled around, not waiting for an answer and proceed to venture inside the portal.

"Don't I always?" replied the mangy cat carelessly, just before Alice was sucked by the swirling vortex and disappeared into the unknown.

* * *

><p><em>There you have it! this week's advance, I'll go and do the modifications to the previous chapters and then i'll began writing the kolrus mission. So i'll update it when is ready. keep reviewing in the meantime.<em>


	12. Don't tell me you missed me

**Author's note: **Well here we go. Once more here I deliver the next snippet. 3 weeks ago I didn't update because I was busy making the changes I commented in the last chapter. And last week, well less just say I didn't feel in my best spirits for writing. I think what I have currently, will do for now, with nothing more to say, I hope you enjoy this update.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 10**

**Don't tell me you missed me**

Commander Shepard braced himself behind his cover from the sudden explosion resultant from the impact of a rocket over his position. As per usual his mission on Korlus went down south, the very moment he exited from the shuttle and everything turned rapidly into a shootout. He really wished that for once he could be able to complete a mission without having someone trying to kill him. But that was just wishful thinking.

For what he had gathered after questioning a wounded merc, the blue suns under the command of an officer named Jedore, had contracted the services of Okeer to create for them an army of tank-bred Krogan clones, for them to command. It seemed that somewhere along the way, there had been a falling out in their partnership and Okeer decided to sick his tank-bred Krogan on the blue suns; which explains why the entire area was now a warzone.

So the ground team now had the not-so-enviable task of scouting through a massive scrap yard of decommissioned ships left to rust in the open, knowing that each dark corner could be concealing an armed hostile ready to end their lives. They were forced to proceed cautiously.

The commander had to deal with several ambushes and chokepoints that the blue suns had prepped before-hand. The mercenaries knew how to effectively use the scaffoldings and other platforms to their advantage. Having troops equipped with rocket launchers taking potshots from coverage on any defenseless target below. It was becoming increasingly frustrating to deal with mercenaries equipped with heavy ordinance at each step of the way. Shepard had to use Jack's biotics to pull his enemies out of cover while Mordin messed their combat capabilities with his tech skills, the commander on the other hand, preferred to deal with any groundside hostiles with his Mattock or use his sniper rifle to pick the rocket-launcher equipped troops stationed in the scaffoldings.

Eventually; the team found a lone Krogan fighting on his own against an entire platoon of blue suns that were, of course, launching their attack from a superior vantage point. Taking pity on the Krogan, the commander decided to give him a hand and take the heat off him, which is the reason as to why he has, currently, to remain under cover while his position was pummeled by rocket after rocket. His patience was quickly spent.

"Jack! Take care of them" he shouted to the ex-con. Who was happy to oblige.

"Hell Yeah! Now this is what I signed for" She said way too cheerily, more than one should expect in this kind of situations, before she released a shockwave towards the scaffolding where the blue suns were perched, sending them flying to their deaths. Effectively giving Shepard a chance to pick and take out a few targets.

"All right team! You know what to do. Mordin! Burn their armors and Jack keep the pressure on them" instructed Shepard while pulling out his sniper and beginning to scan the area for a clear shot. Adrenaline began to be pumped inside his brain thanks to his implants, and for a few seconds he felt as if the entire world was moving in slow motion, allowing him to line the perfect shot. He pulled the trigger and nailed a rocket-launcher troop right in the head.

After a few minutes of intense battle, the ground team began to gain the upper hand. They managed to reduce the enemy numbers from a platoon strong to barely a squad. But just before they were able to completely wipe out their opposition, something happened that was not foreseen, but not totally unexpected.

Once more, Shepard experienced that weird sensation of displacement that he was subjected too when Cheshire opened the gateway towards wonderland. His surroundings wavered and streamed as if made of liquid and a multicolored portal opened in the middle of the battlefield. It dropped a familiar figure in front of him.

"Shepard! What the fuck?" yelled Jack while taking cover beside him.

All movement ceased and the sounds of battle dimmed the moment that rift in reality appeared, which made the following feeling of utter disbelief more prominent when a young woman in her late teens, wearing an odd red and white checkered battle dress, was unceremoniously dumped from the inside of the vortex.

"Alice?" exclaimed the commander stupefied. Of all the possible moments she could chose to comeback, she had to pick the least opportune. Right in the middle of an engagement.

The girl was happy to see the commander again and waved at him merrily "Oh? There you are commander! I'm so glad to see you again. Sorry to drop by unannounced, but this was the only option I could manage to find my way back in such short notice. I'll admit I had my reservations about the reliability of this little shortcut. But I'm happy to see that I was nothing more but unfounded fears, Silly me!"

"Alice, that's enough! There's no time for greetings!" yelled back the commander rather rudely "we are in the middle of combat, Alice! Get out of there and take cover" screamed Shepard frantically.

As to validate the commander's point, their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a rocket detonating very close to where Alice was. It would appear that the blue suns had knocked themselves out of their stupor. Alice was not amused by their bargening.

"My gosh! What poor manners are these, how they dare to interrupt one's conversation. The nerve of this people" She grumbled, appealed at such rudeness. The blue suns obviously, cared nothing for her outrage and replied with another missile shot.

"Alice! Watch out!" yelled Shepard trying to warn the girl. But Alice wasn't fazed in the least at those antics. She held her ground and pulled out her parasol to block the incoming projectiles. Not only did she was able to remain unharmed, but she also sent the missiles back to their senders. The pair of rocket-troops were so utterly surprised by this change of events that they only had time to mutter a quick "Oh Shit!" before blowing up in a rain of gore. The rest of the blue suns perched in the scaffolding were also affected by the concussive blast of the explosions, leaving them vulnerable to a counterattack, a counterattack that Alice was more than happy to deliver.

She brought fort her teapot cannon; Shepard already knew what that weapon was capable of, so he found the following bubbling sound and loud hiss to be somewhat ominous.

SPLURRRRRT!

The following splash was accompanied by the screams of terror of several mercenaries being cook alive inside their hard suits. Despite Shepard's long and varied experience in warfare, even he found those screams of death mildly disturbing. Not only was a very painful and horrible way to die, but death via hot tea shower was also a pretty humiliating and ignoble way to kick the bucket for someone who has spent decades carrying on the most brutal and vicious black ops. Someone with a very cruel and wicked sense of humor was behind the design of that weapon.

"That should teach them some manners" declared Alice with finality. She turned around back to address Shepard again, seemingly forgetting all about this little interruption "Anyway, Commander. As I was saying, is good to see you again. I've been all gidy with the prospect of joining you for another adventure; and of course! Going back to the Normandy again. There are still many things I wanted to see" she said popping a smile. Alice saw Jack appearing from behind Shepard, the ex-con face a mask of perplexion. Alice fixed her eyes on her with a shine and before the commander could offer a reply, the English girl apologized herself and moved to adress the tattoed woman. "Excuse for a moment commander, but I need to speak with Jack"

The biotic woman was not much thrilled about having to speak to her and asked rather bluntly "what do you want?"

Alice was not undeterred by her attitude, however "I'm not sure if you remember, but you still are in posession of my key. So I would really like it to have it back, if you please"

Jack thew her arms in the air as response "I don't have it. I gave it to Shepard. Go bother him instead" she said washing her hands off this whole bussiness, before walking off.

Alice just stood there blinking perplexed for a couple of seconds before whippping back towards Shepard "Well that was unexpected, to tell the truth. But it may be for the best that jack gave you my key, I suppose." She mused "So, can I have it back commander? if you don't mind?" she asked to the former Spectre inoccently.

The commander stared at her in silence for a moment before releasing a tired sigh and swaying his head sideways in negation "Sorry Alice, but no can do" knowing that the young woman would complain and demand answers, he raised one hand to motion her for silence before proceeding with his explanation "You know you really caused quite the stir back in the Normandy when you dissapeared so suddenly without a trace, I had to put the entire ship upside down looking for you. It really set me on edge when we didn't manage to find any sign of you. I'm not used to having the people under my command whose safety and wellbeing are my reponsibility to vanish on thin air" he said with a light scolding tone in his voice.

Alice gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head mildly embarassed "It wasn't my intention, commander. I have no real control over my comings and goings. I really didn't want to leave you or the Normandy behind. Really I didn't! But I have little say in those matters. I'm really sorry if I made you worry" she said droppin her gaze and fidgeting with her fingers.

Shepard took a breath before answering "It's okay, I don't blame you. Cheshire already told us that you been having trouble controlling your… gitfts" that elicit a small frown from Alice who thought odd that Cheshire gave information about her freely. The commander kept speaking "That is also the reason why I can't return you your key. After you were gone, we brought Cheshire in for questioning on your whereabouts, so we could try to shed some light on the issue. He told us about your wonderland, about your gifts, about what you can do. He then did something to your key and opened the way to wonderland"

That piece of info, leaved Alice stunned "What? He showed you my wonderland? Why would Cheshire do that? That doesn't sound like him at all! He doesn't like to give any kind of help for free. You usually have to rough him up a bit first before he's willing to divulge anything remotely useful" The girl said in puzzlement.

The commander could feel sympathy for her in that aspect "Believe me; it wasn't easy for us to make sense of half the things he was saying to us." He said with a smile "Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to have the key with us for when you decide to pull another Houdini on us; That way we could go inside your wonderland and search for you in there without me having to worry that much. Since your key seems a pretty handy thing to have in that kind of situation, don't you think?"

Alice nodded in agreement at him "Yes, commander. Even though I don't know what a Houdini is; I can make a polite guess of what you're trying to say." She pointed out "To be honest, I really don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, I'm not very comfortable of having people walking inside my wonderland without my permission, but in the other I understand you're only willing to take that course of action because you worry about me. Not many people that I know of would do that." She said pensively.

"How about a compromise?" Shepard mentioned.

"A compromise?" the girl repeated a little intrigued.

"Yes, there must be something me and the crew could do for you in exchange of lending us your key as a favor. That way we could help each other out. You scratch my back and I scratch yours, if you catch my meaning." Shepard said pretty reasonable.

Alice pondered his offer for a few seconds, trying not to think too much about the weird image of the commander scratching her back; seriously what kind of saying is that? Regardless, she found the proposal much to her liking "Well wonderland is once more going trough another crisis. It could come in handy to have someone at my side to help me out, I suppose. I swear, every time I go back there's always some crisis or another that needs to be resolved. Is such a bother sometimes…. Mmm… You know I don't see anything wrong with that idea, in fact! Since you already gave me a tour through your ship, maybe now I could return the favor and give you one through my wonderland, it would be only the proper thing to do" she exclaimed pretty excited at her own suggestion "Though, I would not recommend you to explore around inside my wonderland without guidance. Many things don't take kindly to visitors and would most likely try to hurt you or worse if given the chance" Alice warned with real concern.

The Commander, however, was not fazed by her warnings in the least. Why would he? He was accostumed of having someone or something, trying to kill him on a daily basis. He had already died once already –not that he wanted to repeat that experience, is just that dying is not a notion unfamiliar to him- He knows how to deal with life and dead situations pretty well.

"I understand Alice; I'll try not to do something stupid while you are away." He said in good nature "But seriously now. You should know that whatever danger your wonderland may pose, it will not stop me from going after you if I learn that you are in somekind of trouble" Shepard told her seriously with a straight face. Alice was very moved in the inside for having someone who cared enough for her to brave wonderland dangers by himself, never had she met anyone who would put himself in harm's way for her sake. It gave her a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I… thank you for your concern commander. Hopefully, there would be no need for you to make good on your word." She said wishing it to be true; she was starting to grow fond of the commander despite their brief time of having known each other. She really didn't want to put him in uneccesary dangerous situations "Anyway, I'll accept your proposal. You may carry my key with my permisssion. But I expect you to take a good care of it. It has great sentimental value to me and I would be terrible displeased if you do something careless, like losing it" she warned to Shepard giving him a pointed stare.

"No problem, I'll have it with me at all times" the former spectre ressured her. He motioned her to follow him "C'mon; let's move. Now that you're here maybe you could join us in our current mission"

"Well, seeing as it's being pretty much the same as last time." Alice drawled "Sure why not? I could do for some action rigth now"

"Yup! Just a few questions first" Shepard added "First, what's up with your eyes?" he asked incredulous, pointing at her face "And second" he looked at her from head to toes "Nice dress".

"You like it?" Alice replied, tugging at the edges of her dress "It's nothing really! Just a small thing I can do to change my appearance. I have a varied selection of outfits to choose from. Is not just for aesthetic purposes, mind you, they improve over the performance of all my available skills. Useful to deal with all kind of situations, the eyes are just to match with the whole" she said fooling around, the commander just nooded in aknowledgement.

"Sounds like a pretty nifty thing to have" he mentioned "All right let's go. Time to put this show on the road" he turned around and aproached the lone Krogan who hadn't even squeaked since the shooting had ended, just standing there stiffly on his spot, staring blankly at his direction. Weird! The bulky Alien became pretty vivid when the commander was just a few feets of distance away.

"You are different; you don't smell like this world. Seven nights cycles and I've felt nothing but the need to kill. But you; something forces me to speak" he said with an unfocused voice, as if his mind was not truly his own. This gave way to a very weird conversation revolving around water, mirrors and voices coming from beyond the water. Well the gist of it, from what the commander and his teammates and Alice managed to discern, was that the Krogan was a clone breed to full maturity inside a tank as part of Okeer deal of raising an army for the blue suns. He was created to be a simple foot troop, one of many among said army, fooder for the grinder with no knowledge beyond everlasting rage and thrill for battle. Pretty sad really, he was to be disposed once his usefulness had reached an end.

Oh well, at least he was nice enough to clear a wall of metal that impeded their progress. Behind it there was a tunnel that led inside the hull of a ship. So they ventured inside and move foward with their mission.

* * *

><p><em>Well there you go, hope this little snitch is of your liking. Note that I would not bother to writte many of the in-game conversations unless they're truly important or if Alice or the wonder crew has something smart to say. It'll not do to simply make a transcript of the whole conversations, for those of us who have already played the games, is rather boring to read through an entire talk that we already know how will play out, without change.<em>

_I'll try to give some variety, but no promises after all, I run in a tight schedule. Well make sure to review and I'll read you all next chapter._


	13. Junkyard Showdown

**Author's note: **Sorry for the long update. But we are already in that time of the year in which I set my workings aside to play this season's videogame releases. Been busy playing Borderlands 2 since its release, I also recently finished X-com: Enemy Unknown. Both games were awesome.

Anyway, since I finished both games I was able to have the time to finish this chapter. Luckily for you because the release of Halo 4 is drawing near. That means I'll be neglecting this story for a bit, so expect just a small update somewhere by the end of November; or maybe not. I still have to play Dishonored and I hope that Hitman: absolution is released too during the course of the next month. I dunno known if I should buy Assassin's Creed 3. It looks as awesome and badass as the 2 was (Which in my personal opinion is the best game of the whole series so far) but after the disappointments that brotherhood and specially, revelations were. I have my reservations; I'll wait for the reviews of the gamer community before I can make my mind.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA (except the Sandman bits, those belong to Neil Gaiman).

**CHAPTER 11**

**Junkyard Showdown**

The tunnel was not really a tunnel at all; it was one of many service corridors that run through the interior of a spaceship. And it was actually a ramp that went down deep inside said ship. The ground team descended through the ramp and quickly stumbled with a turn to the right. Any other people would have been caught off guard when a couple of Blue Suns appeared around the corner, guns blazing; but not the commander or his team.

Shepard instincts took over and he quickly began to dodge the incoming enemy fire. He only had enough clarity of mind to turn around and grab Alice before lunging to the left to avoid the stream of bullets, taking the girl down with him to the ground. Everything happened so fast that the girl could only release a small yelp as a reaction before Shepard forced both of them to keep their heads down while bullets whizzed past them. Jack and Mordin, also in a show of impressive reflexes, hugged the wall to the right in order to avoid the spray of fire.

Immediatly, after that first salvo, Shepard leveled his Mattock from his prone position, and released a burst of fire that impacted one of the hostile mercenaries full in the chest, killing him. The other was sent crashing into the far wall in the back by a biotic blast from Jack. He didn't get up after that.

The team was quick to reassess itself back. "That was too close for comfort. I should have been more attentive, this should teach me to keep a better eye on my surroundings" chirped Alice dusting off her dress. She turned towards Shepard "Thanks Commander, I would be swiss chess by now if not for your quick thinking"

The Commander merely nodded back at her as a reply "No problem Alice, just make sure to keep your eyes open in the future. C'mon let's go" He signaled the others to move on and continue with the mission.

Taking the turn to the right, they reached some walkways that were hanging above a black pit. Really strange to find something like that inside a cruise size starship. He didn't know wether the base of the ship had become separated while the vessel rested above a chasm or if these walkways were just connecting 2 different ships together. He didn't cared really, either way this was the only path they had to press forward.

It was not going to be an easy croosing, however, as several of the Krogan clones appeared from the other side of the walkways firing their weapons. Alice didn't hesitated in engaging them in combat, even though they had just received a little help from a lone troop of their ranks in clearing a path for them. Quite chivalrously from his part and she indeed appreciate it, but these brothers of him -clearly- Didn't seem to have been raised with the same manners; so she wasn't keen on the idea of tolerating their rudeness.

She rushed at a lone vanguard in her butterflies' form that was already making his way towards the ground team, passing through the crates and other debris that were scattered among the walkways. Alice met him head on with her hobby horse. The strength behind her punch was enough to leave the Krogan soldier careening after that impact, but in a true display of his species migth, the Krogan clone got back on his feet and ignored any pain. He tossed his weapon away and bellowed a mighty roar back to Alice as a challenge of strenght. He then charged upon the young maiden in frenzy.

Only to be greeted by another blow from Alice's hobby horse, but in his bloodlust the Krogan trooper shrugged off the attack and kept coming at the girl. Alice was surprised by his opponent's endurance and barely managed to block his charge with her umbrella, unfortunately, Alice did not possessed the same physical prowess as the bulky Alien and despite her efforts, she slowly began to be pushed back by her opponent.

Her motion finally came to a stop when she found herself with her back at the railing, but that was not an improvement over her situation. In fact, it was worse, because now she ran with the danger of being pushed over the railing and falling into the blackness below. Something that his enemy had every intention to make sure it happened.

She fought back, obviously, putting every fiber of her being on repelling the burly menace that threatened to toss her over the edge. It was not enough, however, and no matter how frantic her attempts were. She found herself unable to escape from her incoming doom; desperation started to take root in her mind. Luckily for her, she had people watching her back.

"Here, enjoy"

She heard before a burst of fire impacted on the side of her assailant, setting him aflame. The Krogan gave up his hold on her and began trashing around wildly in a vain effort to extinguish the flames. Alice, took a few steps away to reallocate to a safer position, she was a little surprised by this sudden turn of events. She glimpsed in the direction of the others and saw Mordin displaying his glowing contraption, smiling pleasantly from ear to ear.

"That should give enough room to breathe. Krogan now in temporary disadvantage; should capitalize on that." he said with a happy face. Alice returned the smile and nodded in acknowledgement.

She brought forth her hobby horse once more; her opponent didn't even seem to notice her approach. Still roaring and bellowing in his violent intent to snuffle the burning inferno that was consuming him. Alice struck him right in the chest with all her might; her target never knew what hit him. With his attention focused elsewhere; the Krogan didn't have time to brace himself for such a punch and was tossed away like a ragdoll several feet, flying over the railing and plunging down into the abyss.

Alice didn't missed the irony of the Krogan's demise being in the same manner in which he had tried to bring on her own person and thought he had it well deserved. She didn't had time to contemplate on that thought for long, for another Krogan had reached their position and enraged by the death of his brother, he too entered in a murderous frenzy and charged against the young maiden.

Mordin, once more, tried to gave her a hand by tossing another fiery projectile. "Flammable or inflammable? Forget which. Doesn't matter" he mumbled to himself while the bright disc of flames flew the distance towards its objective.

Just like the last time, the resultant controlled explosion soaked his target completely on flames. But in this instance it didn't managed to obtain the same results. In another display of his species high threshold for pain, the Krogan paid no heed to any harm and continued with his rage-fueled assault unhindered.

Alice was preparing herself to meet her attacker head-on with her Hobby-horse. Hoping that maybe a strong enough blow would stagger him for a few seconds, giving her the chance to make her escape. She was never able to put that idea into test, however, as several gunshots rang aloud and to her growing astonishment, her assaulter –literally- froze on his tracks.

The attacking Alien suddenly and without notice, was covered by a heavy sheen of ice that coated his entire body from head to toes; putting an abrupt end to his motion. Alice's opponent was just as surprised as her, if the unintelligible grunt was any indication. He could do notion but _plop_ defenseless at the girl's feet. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, despite her puzzlement, Alice didn't wasted this opportunity and dropped her fiery hammer right on top of the Krogan's head; smashing it in a thousand bloodied ice bits. Orange blood at that.

More bullets zipped past around her; there was no time for contemplations, they had still a battle to win. More of those bulky attackers were getting close and as she just sadly learned; that was bad news! The rest of the team was doing their best while engaging the enemy. Unfortunately, Jack was not having much success in repelling them with her powers; the Aliens were making good use of their species natural strength by effectively bracing themselves against the tattooed woman's most vicious attacks. The only thing that seemed to work was the warp blast. But that power took too long to charge, and time was something they didn't have to spare.

Alice saw Mordin sticking with his strategy of setting their enemies on fire. That seemed to give enough distraction for Jack's powers to work effectively against them. It appeared that the Krogan clones simple minds could only focus over one threat at a time, leaving them vulnerable to attacks coming from other directions. *****

Having learned her lesson of not engaging their current enemies in close combat, but set on returning the favor to her teammates; Alice switched her Hobby Horse for the Teapot Cannon and prepared to attack the enemy at range.

This change of tactics proved to be quite effective. The wide area that each splash from her cannon covered, managed to soak entire groups of Krogan at a time, especially if they were huddled together. The hot-steaming tea that melted their armor and caused them a world of pain, in third degree burns, was not enough to kill them; but it sure as hell leaved them on a silver platter for the rest of the team.

The coup-de-graces always came without delay. Jack kept bombarding with her biotics, often abusing the employ of her shockwave attack, sending enemies flying everywhere, usually resulting in them falling unto the chasm. Mordin preferred to simply cut his targets down with short bursts from his machine-gun while comfortably staying on cover, using his tech skills from time to time. Alice couldn't spot the commander but the thundering detonations that she was able to hear and enemies suddenly exploding in bloodied bits of ice after each bang told her that the commander was busy at work. Soon enough all opposition was dead.

Waving her weapons away, Alice heard the sound of incoming footsteps and saw the commander approaching her. He released a hot steaming gleaming cartridge from his mean looking weapon, said weapon was displaying some white glowing symbols, the most prominent depicting a bullet in front of a snowflake. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had frozen her charging attacker stiff or turned their enemies into showers of ice.

"Alice! What the hell were you thinking? Why did you rushed at the enemy like that? How could you be so reckless?" Shepard said sternly with a stoic expression "If you're going to be part of this team you'll learn to follow orders. Next time wait for my signal. I'm not going to let your hot-headness endanger the rest of the team"

That stung her inside; Alice knew the commander was disappointed in her actions. It's true, that hadn't been one of her finest moments and yes, she may have been a little too hasty, but he didn't have to be so mean about it. She had tried her best.

Shepard saw the hurtful look in Alice's face. It was the kind that said "_You kicked my puppy_" and the commander knew it was of no use to get angry at her. He sighed "Don't take me wrong Alice. I know you have some really impressive skills and know how to handle yourself in combat, but your abilities need polishing. You lack direction and tactics, I mean seriously, charging head-on at an enemy that is physically superior to you is not acting smart, you need to learn more about combat strategies. So please from now on wait for my orders and follow them without question. So we can avoid these unpleasantries in the future" Shepard pleaded honestly.

Alice was a little unsure in her answer; on one hand, she wanted to lash out at the commander for having offended her with his brusqueness. But on the other she knew what he was saying was true, she wasn't one for planning and devising strategies. Hell, most of the time she has spent traipsing around wonderland; she did it without a clear path to follow. The chaotic nature of her madness and of wonderland prevented any kind of planning to work; everything could change at a moment notice. The only thing you could take for granted was to expect the unexpected, not to mention the weird, the strange and the bizarre. All that made any preparation useless, letting her instincts take over worked better when dealing with the dangers of her own mind. Never backing from a challenge and facing any threat head-on in the most vicious way possible is what has kept her alive all this years. Sadly that didn't seem to be enough for her current predicament.

But the Commander did know how to plan for this kind of predicaments. She had witnessed him already, leading and managing his team in a very efficient fashion, using the particular skills of each member in the most effective way, shaping them in a highly proficient, seemingly unstoppable fighting force. Alice knew that the Commander could very well direct her violent instincts and employ them where he could make the most out of them. But Alice was weary of letting someone, other than herself, dictate her actions. She has always been a person of her own opinion, madness notwithstanding. Another reason was the memory of Bumby's mind-control still lingering fresh inside her head. She has been deceived and manipulated by others far too much in the past. But the commander was not like any other person she has ever met; his presence always so charming, so confident and full with purpose… So compelling, it made her want to lower her guard around him and follow him blindly. So far the commander has been kind and honest in his actions; he hasn't show any sign of deception towards her person. But the mistakes of her past have diminished her trust towards other people. She couldn't make up her mind, her struggle was not an easy one. What was she to do?

"_Let your need guide your behavior. Suppress your instinct to lead_" Alice heard Cheshire's deep baritone whispering in the recesses of her mind; an old memory of an already learned lesson that was conveniently resurfacing in her time of need. Either that or the cat was nagging her from inside her head, which was most likely given his nature.

Taking that thought in consideration, Alice finally made up her mind. "You're right Commander, I was being careless. I let my temper take the best of me. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, please commander I beg you! Give me another chance to prove my worth. I'll do anything you ask of me from now on. You lead, I follow" she said with determination.

Shepard nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Very well that's a start. We'll have to train and instruct you in military doctrine once we get back to the ship, in the meantime do try to keep your recklessness to a minimum. Just do what I do, ok?" he said in a tired tone.

Alice didn't say a thing and just nodded in acknowledgement, still feeling chastised. The commander sighed and grinned a little, he patted Alice in the head gently. "Its ok kid, I'm not mad at you. I was just worried over the way you were acting. That Krogan almost pushed you off the railing and I was scared because we almost lost you. I'm just happy to see you're okay" He ruffled Alice's hair playfully, earning him a grumpy pout from the girl who wasn't amused at him for messing with her hairdo. It had the opposite effect, however, as Alice looked pretty cute rather than intimidating with that expression, which made Shepard stifle a laugh. "Anyway, I hope you learned your lesson. No more rushing head-on at enemies that you have not encountered before, alright?" he said pulling Alice in a one-arm hug around her neck.

"Alright commander; I promise, no more brash behavior from my part." The young maiden replied, Shepard's foolery finally winning her over and making her play along.

"Awwww! You two look so cute together. It makes me want to vomit." Said Jack piping in after witnessing their rather horrendous exchange, she and Mordin were already set to continue with the mission.

Shepard rolled his eyes, accustomed to snarky comments from his teammates. He waved such comments aside and gave the order to move on. "Right team, let's keep this rolling. Move out, standard formation. Alice! Follow me and stay close. And keep your head down."

* * *

><p>They proceed with their quest, making their way through the bowels and outside surfaces of once mighty vessels. Fighting and dealing with groups of mercenaries at each step of the way while at the same time hearing the little speeches of self centered superiority from the Blue suns leader through the speakers that were sprawl all around the junkyard. These last ones being utterly vexing to the nerves, the fighting wasn't so bad though.<p>

If one were to be honest, the blue suns were actually pretty well equipped for their task. They had assault teams backed up by demolition teams wielding rocket launchers and even snipers from time to time, their officers were clad with tech armor as an additional layer of protection, making them a little harder to kill than the regular grunt. Despite this their tactics were nothing compared with Shepard's own leadership skills.

It was almost a routine every time they had to engage a group of enemies. Jack would unleash her powers to spread terror and confusion among their ranks, her work to make the enemy bleed and she was very good at it. Mordin would use his tech skills to weaken their defenses or pin them down with suppression fire; he was really good at helping in bring the tougher opponents down. Alice would zero in on mercs that were isolated or separated from the rest of their group or she would be ordered to deal with the sniper and rocket threat. Her butterflies form was excellent to get close to the enemy while at the same time ignoring any resistance. This made her task pretty easy when dealing with her specific targets, who liked to stay on cover at the back of their respective assault teams. If they were in an upper platform, Alice's jumping abilities allowed her to reach them with ease, that or a well place shot from the teapot cannon would settle the matter if the commander was judging the situation to frisky to engage them at close range.

She had to be fast though, orders from the commander, always be in motion. Get close to the enemy as butterflies, some quick slashes with the vorpal blade or one demolishing strike with the hobby horse, then turn back into butterflies and put some distance between her and the enemy. Rinse and repeat. As for the commander, he was always in the thick of it, dispensing bullets left and right. And not normal bullets mind you. No; they were those fantastical bullets that caused their targets be set on fire or frozen solid or even electrocuted. He also used a special explosive bullet from time to time that pushed or dropped their enemies back, useful for when they attackers tried to entrench themselves. All in all, Alice was really impressed by the effects of his ammunition, if only she would had thought in something like that during her travels in wonderland, it would had made her life so much easier.

But in any case, amazing magical bullets was not the only thing that the commander could dish out. Alice in all her years had never witnessed someone with the speed and reflexes that the commander possessed, she never had seen someone brandish and shoot a gun that fast. He could kill any enemy that had his weapon aiming at him before they could have a chance to pull the trigger; it reminded her of those tales of duels between cowboys and gunslingers from America that she sometimes overheard from travelers and sailors. Very impressive! She also noticed the commander having a resistance for pain that could be on par with the humped aliens own. Several times she had witnessed him storming groups of enemies that were in cover on his own and not only shrug off their attacks, but successfully take them all out. How could he have such endurance? She could not tell. He was like an unstoppable force of nature, killing everything in his wake, always moving forward, never yielding back an inch. Alice could not help but being in awe. ******

Shepard and his team triumphed against any opposition and eventually gained access inside to a small research station behind a closed airlock. There they found an old acquaintance of the commander.

"Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" Warned an Asari in a Lab-suit, standing in front of a terminal while giving her back to Shepard and the others; she resumed her typing in the terminal. "I shut down the security cams as soon as I saw you. Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad is you shooting up the place" She finished her typing and approached the team for a proper greeting "Sorry, Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. Had to run a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance."

"Do you remember this person commander?" Asked Alice to the former spectre with suspicion.

"Yes; barely. We didn't have much time for a pleasant conversation back then." Replied Shepard to the youngest member of his team before addressing back at the Asari in question. "I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab."

"Don't worry! I'm not wasting the chance you gave me." Rana replied raising her hands in a non-threatening gesture "My work here- strictly beneficial." She vowed "Not for the mercs, Jedore's on a standard power trip. But Okeer is trying to do something good, I can tell. Even if his methods are a little… extreme" she said glancing at a pile of skulls and bones over a slab. Pretty extreme alright, I bet nobody asked the patients for their agreement; thought Alice. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Right? And sometimes giving one pays off. I take care of my debts" Said Rana activating her omnitool and pressing some buttons.

"What is Okeer trying to do?" inquired Shepard.

"It's complicated. Jedore wants a private army, but Okeer mostly ignores her. He's running the project for his own reasons." Rana explained not going into details "I created a mental implant routine to educate his tank-bred, but most don't get through it. He dumps them for some reason." She wondered, glancing towards the corpse of one of the Krogan clones atop another autopsy slab. "He wants to help his people, but he's not looking for a genophage cure, and he's not going for numbers. That's all I know."

Shepard was not much convinced by her answers, tough. "Finding you in a place like this makes me think letting you go was a mistake. You don't want that." he not so subtly threatened.

"We agree on that. Don't worry, I plan on staying as far away from anything to do with you as possible" replied Rana trying to reassure the commander. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to run like hell before you blow the place or something. I know how you work." She stated before making a hurried exit.

Alice had the need to comment. "I don't like her commander. She gives me a bad feeling. I think is a mistake to let her go"

"Agree with young Alice in this. Should have killed her instead; Too much knowledge without ethical boundaries" said Mordin voicing his concerns too.

"We don't kill unarmed civilians… No matter how tempted we are." Replied Shepard with a sideway glance, Putting an end to the issue. The team proceeded forward.

They finally managed to find Okeer through the next set of doors. The Krogan warlord was busy working on a wall panel, he greeted them without turning. "Here you are! I've watched your progress." He spared a glance to Shepard "It's about time. The batteries of these tanks will not wait while you play with this idiotic mercs"

"I take it you're Okeer. You don't see particularly caged… or grateful that I'm here" Shepard pointed out.

"You claim to be here to help, but the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change" Rebutted the Warlord, finally turning around. It seemed Shepard reputation had preceded him. Formerly deceased… so it was true that the commander had died, Alice was still amazed by that feat, even if she admitted to have been just a little skeptical. Okeer kept speaking. "Surprised? All Krogan Should know you. I'm sure Rana has already revisited your actions on Virmire.

"I'm sure you're eager to retell the story?" quipped back the commander sarcastically.

"Such a tale! Saren, the spectre traitor, threatens the return of the Krogan horde by curing the genophage, undoing the gentle genocide of the turians and salarians." Okeer said, telling the story with gusto "But before Saren can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard, securing victory through nuclear fire. I like that part. It has weight." It seemed there was indeed quite the tale behind that story, Alice thought. Maybe she should ask the commander about it once they're all back and safe inside the Normandy.

"I didn't have a lot of room for finesse. If there'd been any other solution, I'd have considered it." Replied Shepard; not comfortable with the retelling of his pasts exploits.

"But I approve" Okeer stated, much to the surprise of the commander "Saren's pale horde were not true Krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider, one that these mercenaries also made." He turned away from Shepard and approached the nearby viewing window to stare at the cloning vats below. "I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

Jack voiced her opinion "Yeah, don't care. We are here about the collectors."

Okeer turned from the window and returned his attention back to the team. "I see. Yes, collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." He mentioned offhandedly. He signaled towards a nearby cloning tank and approached it. Inside one could see the slumbering form of a young Krogan. "I acquired the knowledge to create a pure soldier. With that, I will inflict upon the genophage the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored."

"Your search for the perfect soldier created a lot of failures. You don't care about them?" Questioned Shepard appealed at such disregard for someone own creations.

"I failed no one. My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for. She simply lacks the ability to command. They are strong, healthy and useless to me" replied Okeer uncaring. "I need perfection. If a few thousands are reject, so be it. My work will purify the Krogan. We will not be restored—we will be renewed"

"I thought the Krogan ideal was a return to the numbers that threatened the galaxy?"

"We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to feel the lance"

"So you don't want a cure for the genophage?" asked Shepard mildly skeptical.

"Contrary to what survivors claim, the genophage does not produce strong Krogan—the only quality it filters is the ability to survive the genophage." Okeer replied with contempt "For every thousand stillborn, too many weaklings live. Every survivor is branded as precious. That's produced more coddling than your collective human teats"

Shepard frowned, felling insulted by that last remark. Alice could not remain silent at such rudeness. "That is not a polite thing to say in the presence of civilized company. If you can't say something nice about someone, then don't say anything at all." She chided.

"I couldn't care less whether I insulted your puny human sensibilities or not. Deal with it" Snarked Okeer back, not appreciating the interruption. "But regardless, as I was saying… Let us carry the genophage! Let a thousand die in a clutch. We will defeat it by climbing atop our dead. That is the krogan way." A pretty macabre way in hindsight.

"What did you get from the collectors? I need whatever you know about them" by the tone in Shepard's voice, one could discern that his question was not a request.

"They are strange. So isolated, yet very available when your sacrifice is big enough. I gave them many Krogan. I may have information for you. But the tech was consumed in my prototype. After I determined how to use it without killing the subject" Okeer answered without shame or regret for his actions."The deaths were unfortunate, but I only need one success to start the process"

Shepard mused, thinking over what he had recently heard. It was obvious that Okeer was a cold-hearted bastard that cared for nothing except his obsessive research to elevate the Krogan condition; something that bordered in fanaticism. Finally the commander reached a decision "Your methods are extreme, but you know how to deconstruct a threat. Will you help us?"

"Perhaps I can strike a deal to secure passage. But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to my legacy"

Their conversation was interrupted by the voice of the blue suns leader, Jedore, blaring through the station speakers. "Attention. I have traced the Krogan release. Okeer, of course." The warlord returned and stared back through the window, he could see Jedore down in the cloning vats issuing her orders.

"I'm calling _blank state_ on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"

Back upstairs in the lab, gas started to be vented inside the room from the pipes in the ceiling. Okeer was not pleased with this turn of events. "She's that weak-willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damn valve!" He addressed back to Shepard and gave him an ultimatum "Shepard! You want information about the collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay" He pointed towards a door behind the commander.

"You could just start over, like she plans to. What's the big deal?" Shepard asked unconcerned.

"This tank is pure" replied Okeer focusing his attention back to the occupied cloning tank "It involved as much trial as data. Starting over will not duplicate it. It must survive. Jedore will be with rejected tanks. Kill her. I will… do what must be done." With that the warlord put an end to their conversation. Shepard proceed to go down and stop the blue suns leader from filling the control room with toxic gas, he signaled his team to follow him.

Arriving down into the cloning vats, they found Jedore barking orders to her subordinates through her comm. They mostly revolved around Shepard and his team and how they should be stopped at all cost. She wasn't using a very flattering language.

Jack was reaching the end of her rope after all that bitching "Can we just shut that bitch up now?" she complained.

They prepared to take down Jedore, but of course it could not be that simple. The blue suns ringleader on the planet Korlus had brought friends along to the party. She was being guarded by a Ymir and also, she had taken control of a batch of tanks. Releasing Krogan soldiers under her command. The ground team quickly took cover behind the cloning vats that were lined up in front of them, it gave them an excellent protection to assess their situation and come up with a plan.

The commander pulled up his sniper and set it with disruptor ammo. "Jack, Mordin. Make sure to keep those Krogan at bay. Alice, start charging your cannon, wait for me to bring down that Ymir shields before you soak it. That's the big robot over there." He ordered before giving the signal to spring into action.

While everybody carried with their orders. The former spectre, using his increased awareness of the battlefield –that made his surroundings look as if they were moving in slow motion- aimed carefully his shot and struck the Ymir right in the middle of his optics sensors, draining a big deal of the mech shields. He went back to cover and quickly reloaded his weapon while the mech riddled his position with bullets. Waiting for the Ymir's weapon to overheat, Shepard leaved his cover again and aimed for another shot. Unfortunately, this second shoot was still not enough to completely bring the Ymir's shields down. So the commander quickly brought up his Mattock and emptied the entire clip on the mech's frame, finally taking down its shields.

"Shields are down! Alice, take the shot!" He, yelled jumping back into cover to avoid the barrage of fire coming from the white automaton. A sniper round zipped past him, Jedore was trying to take some cheap shots at them from her position. Luckily for the team, their cover was good and prevented her for having a clear shot.

POP!

SPLURRRRRRRT!

Alice aim proved true, the heavy automaton was completely drenched in hot-steaming tea that began melting his armor. The commander gave the order to keep the pressure up "Jack, Mordin! Your turn, break his armor!"

A warp blast and an incineration blast struck the mech full in its mid-section right at the same time. Adding the still active effects of Alice's acid attack and the Ymir was barely nothing more but a rickety construction that could barely keep itself together without breaking apart. Shepard quickly reloaded his mattock and blew the optic sensors of the Mech. The self-destruct sequence of the machine soon began to charge.

The ground team ducked safely in their coverage behind the cloning vats, they covered their ears too lessen the auditory damage from the blast. The resultant explosion brought the remaining Krogan in the room down, either dead or suffering from the after effects of being near a big detonation. Jedore too was affected by the blast, leaving her on her knees and dazed behind her own cover.

The team quickly shook off all discomfort and didn't waste time to take advantage at their enemies' sudden disability. They promptly dispatched the remaining Krogan soldiers, leaving only Jedore left.

The blue suns captain was not going to go down without a fight, thought. She started to take precision shoots on Shepard and his team, forcing them to cover. Too bad for her that she had more targets that she could shoot before having to reload. Seeing a chance, the commander told his team to act. "C'mon Mordin, let's drain her shields" he said while setting a thermal clip inside his sniper, once more the commander entered in his adrenaline rush and made a perfect shoot that struck Jedore in the middle of her eyes, her shields sucking the damage at the cost of being heavily drained. She was struck immediately by a shockwave from Mordin that pushed her back.

"Ok Ladies your turn" Shepard said addressing to the female members of the team.

"Who the fuck you're calling a lady?" Jack rebuked charging her attack, she ran at Jedore screaming "Take this, bitch!" and struck the blue suns officer head-on with a warp blast, signaling at Alice her turn to act.

The young girl quickly closed the distance to her target with a butterfly rush and began riddling the blue suns captain with bullets from her pepper grinder until her weapon overheated. She then delivered a quick 3 slashes combo with her vorpal blade followed by a smashing hit from her hobby horse that sent Jedore flying down towards the rest of the team location.

Jedore was barely able to stand after such beating; she spat blood and teeth on the ground in a fit of coughs. Alice had probably broken a few of her ribs. Shepard pulled out his phalanx pistol and decided to bring the woman out of her misery via headshot. No sooner that Jedore's lifeless body hit the floor, an alarm blared coming from upstairs.

"Great, what's the old guy doing back in his lab?" Jack said annoyed at what could possibly mean another problem to deal with.

EDI's voice chimed through the team's comms "Shepard, the labs alarms coincided with a system failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access. According to lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's personal life signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste."

"Shit! Quick people, back upstairs" Shepard ordered with urgency. Not liking the sound of that news.

The team promptly made its way back to the lab. EDI lend them a hand by venting all toxins and poisonous gas off the room, the lab V.I. announced through the speakers what she had done. Unfortunately, their efforts were fruitless.

Once inside they found Okeer's corpse slumped at the feet of the panel beside the cloning tank that he was working on previously. A recorded message was playing on the screen of the panel, delivering the warlord last words for Shepard. A morbid creepy feeling crept among the team at hearing a dead man's voice from beyond the grave.

"You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the collectors wanted humans, I would tell you. But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure." The image of Okeer suddenly began to wobble; his breathing became difficult, each word becoming a great struggle just to utter "This… one soldier. This grunt. Perfect." Those were the warlord's last words before death overtook him; the recording ending with his demise.

Alice could not simply believe what she was seeing. What was so important about this soldier that made Okeer to give his life for him "I don't understand commander, what could make someone so cold and ruthless to sacrifice himself for anyone?

Mordin answered her question "Delusional. Unlikely one Krogan, however strong, could have impact Okeer wanted. Am… a most certain. Suggest leaving it."

"Afraid he'll make your genophage obsolete?" Shepard commented.

"No. But Krogan genetically dangerous. Socially dangerous as well. Have enough enemies without adding this."

Jack gave her two cents about the situation, excited at the possibilities for another fight "Crack it open. Let's see what a pure Krogan's got."

"A _pure_ Krogan could pack a hell of a punch. We could always use another heavy hitter." Shepard pondered aloud. He brought his finger to the comm. Device in his ear and contacted the Normandy. "Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval... And he's a big one."

* * *

><p><strong>* <strong>_Ok this is my take to try to deal with certain game mechanics. In the game you cannot hurt a Krogan with biotic powers without taking his armor out first, unless it is a warp blast. But according to cinematics and lore, a Biotic can indeed stop and even kill a Krogan in his tracks even if it's on a rampage using any of their powers. In order to deal with such conflicting sources, I came up with the idea that if a krogan has his mind on the game then they can take anything that it is throw at them. If they don't, if they are taken by surprised then they are as vulnerable as anybody else. Pretty nifty, innit?_

**** **_This just me trying to depict a soldier's adrenaline rush from a 3__rd__ person standpoint. In the game such skill gives you a significant reduction to damage while at the same time dilates time making your surroundings move in slow-mo. As is widely known a person moving at normal speed while everything around him is moving slow, is seen by other people as if he's moving really fast, hence the fast reflexes explanation. Sometimes is really hard to me to depict a soldier ability to suck pain without making Shepard seem overpowered at Mary Sue levels. The fucking game mechanics are so broken in that aspect, I mean do you people remember the Soldier fitness feat in the first mass effect. The one that allowed you to use the immunity skill that made your health bar turn white. Level that shit at maximum and use a mod level X that improves your immunity and you were fucking immune –goddamn pun- to any kind of damage. You were shoot, poisoned and struck with all kind of powers and it took a while for your life to decrease by just a meager amount, and also soldiers had health regeneration. Fucking powerhouses they were._

_Well this wraps it up for now, as I said earlier, I will be busy playing this year top videogames releases. So you'll have to wait a little for the next update. I know I had said earlier that I would skip conversation, but I thought the ones of the chapter to be important enough. That and also I needed to fill pages, but anyway. Until next time and don't forget to review._


	14. Normandy's Guide to the Galaxy

**Author's note: **Well here's the next part of this story. This is only half as long as last chapter, but the important thing is to keep the story moving forward so…

Just one thing before starting. Could someone tell me where I have to go to post some story challenges? I've been coming up with some ideas for some interesting stories and I would like to see if some of the writers that hang around here would like to take up on the task at writing them. I can't I'm too immersed in writing this story to do it. I've simply having them flying around in my head, no plot bunny has emerged as of yet but I would certainly like to read a story with this ideas of mine.

They're 3. First a Hellsing/ X-com: enemy unknown crossover, in which Integra is chosen to become the X-com commander. The gist is that the Millennium attack in London is abruptly brought to an end by the Alien Invasion. An alien warship appears on the skies above London to do a terror attack and decimates the entire Nazi/vampire army from the sky before landing and began carrying on with their abductions. The attack also kills most of the Iscariot and leaves the organization leaderless with the dead of father Maxwell, which in the aftermath and in order to fight this new threat against humanity. Father Anderson and his posse consisting of Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi join X-com. Maybe some of the agents of Millennium can also join, seeing how a global alien invasion practically changes the rules of the game, some members like the doctor or Zorin or Schrodinger _**may**_and that's a big may, join. But the Major definitely has to die; no way would Alucard or Integra leave him alive.

The next is a Watchmen/ Borderlands crossover in which Rorschach is sent to Pandora and he becomes a marshal. I had this dream one time of Rorschach killing bandits and blowing the face off handsome Jack with a conference call shotgun. Traveling the wastes, killing any poor idiot standing in his way. I believe Rorschach could very well tame the wilderness of Pandora all on his own. He should have to arrive on the interim between the first and second games, so he can build up a reputation and be present during the Hyperion take over, so that they can learn the meaning of fear. Preferably during the destruction of new heaven where he will slaughter the Hyperion forces and allow the town to be safely evacuated and relocated to sanctuary. Obviously he would change the main story line of the second game with his presence. Like when Jack shoots Roland, during the entire cut-scene the vault-hunters simply stand there and do nothing! WTF? A bunch hardened killers simply decide to stand stiff as a rod instead of shooting the mother-fucker who's been fucking with them during the entire game? That has no sense at all. I wanted to shoot the bastard the moment I saw his shitty-face out in the open. Rorschach would definitively shoot him.

And finally a crossover between the original and the new version of the Thundercats, because I saw the first chapters of the new version and it didn't end convincing me quite well. The new, younger Lion-o even though he walks the path of the just, I just simply can't shake the feeling he's lacking something. So what would happen if he met the Original Lion-O that although he made a lot of mistakes during his journey, he became an example of a true great leader comparable to that of Optimus Prime. So I really would like to read a story where the original Thundercats, after _the return_ comic-series and before Dogs of War, found themselves transported at the beginning of the new series. No need to follow canon at all.

Anyway, if you could point me to the proper place where I can post this challenges I will really appreciate it, or if you want to give it a try and develop one of this ideas fine by me.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 13**

**NORMANDY'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY**

Sitting inside the Kodiak shuttle, the ground team was on its way of returning back to the Normandy. A second shuttle had been sent to haul the cloning pod that contained Okeer's Krogan super soldier back to the frigate. Currently, the commander decided to use the free time they had during the transition to ask Alice a few questions about her disappearance. The girl in question was currently sitting in the opposite seat in front of him, watching with great interest through the shuttle window their breaking off of the planet atmosphere. This was her first time inside an atmospheric vehicle, so there was not much surprise that she be enthralled by the sights.

"So Alice, what you been up to since you left?" asked the commander pulling Alice out of her sight-seeing with the sound of his voice. The girl was momentarily startled by his approach before relaxingback down once she became aware that she was being addressed at.

She promptly apologized for her lack of acknowledgement "Oh? Sorry commander, my mind was elsewhere. Did you say something?"

"I just want to know what you've been doing while you were gone. We still don't know what it was what caused the drive core to spike like that. So I would like you to tell me if you discovered anything on your end." Shepard asked getting comfy in his seat.

Alice replied with a sway of her head "No, sorry commander. There was nothing out of the ordinary for what I could tell when I woke up, just the same old, boring and regular London. Truth is; your glowy engine getting all haywire was not something that would particularly strike me as odd. Things always tend to get a little… hectic before I leave wonderland. You could say is something like an early notice that tells me when I'm about to wake up. It never fails." She stated with the outmost certainty.

"Well, regardless. I have to say you were pretty fast in coming back to us; you didn't waste any time for what I can tell" Shepard said, stroking his chin.

"Not soon enough if you ask me, it was hard enough to keep my excitement on a tight leash during a whole day. The anticipation of getting back to continue with my appraisal of all your technological marvels once again was almost too much to bear."

"A day? Alice, you were gone for only 3 hours."Stated Shepard with genuine surprise.

"What?" Replied Alice caught off guard by that answer"How is that possible commander? I spent the entire day wandering through London's streets and alleyways. Its only recently when I went to sleep that I was able to find my way back." She stated utterly at a loss.

"Believe I can explain" said Mordin barging in the conversation "Considering young Alice indeed is moving back and forth between different time periods. Then time dilation could be only plausible explanation. Basically, an individual from a specific time-continuum could travel to any future date at any given moment, regardless of what transpires in own era, so long as it is to a later period from its own time-continuum. Could leave now and spend days, weeks or months at own century. But appear just a few seconds after departure from our own time period. Depends which date she wishes to arrive." Mentioned the Salarian doctor rubbing his chin in thought

"I think I can get the idea, Professor." said Shepard mulling about the subject. "Very well I guess that explains it. Anyway Alice, I want to start with your instruction once we return to the ship and I dealt with our new friend first." He said referring to the tank-grown Krogan they had picked up in Kolrus.

"As you wish commander, I shall await for your word when you have need of me." Replied Alice curtly.

"Just make sure not to get in trouble in the meantime" Shepard said absentmindedly before going back to the task of finding a comfortable spot in his seat.

* * *

><p>Once the ground team was already back aboard the ship. The first thing Shepard set to do was to collect the reports of what had transpired inside the ship during his absence from his officers on the CIC. The moment the doors of the elevator began to open, Shepard was confronted by the figure of Yeoman Chambers.<p>

"The Illusive man wishes to speak to you, commander" she informed him. Great! Just the last person he wanted to speak right now. Ugh, might as well get over with it quickly. Shepard had a good guess of what this little social call was about. He barely paid attention to Kelly's further news, stating he had new messages before he double backed and headed towards the conference room.

He entered inside the briefing room, the QEC springing to life as soon he set foot inside the place. The meeting table lowered unto the floor and a holographic grid appeared showing a full-size image of the secretive leader of Cerberus, sitting leisurely on a chair with his ever present smoke in hand. "Hello Shepard. I've just got word of your most recent acquisitions for your team. I must admit, if anyone else but Miranda had informed me of this, I would have labeled it as a bad attempt at a joke. But seeing EDI's recordings as proof, well… I got to say I'm curious. Is not every day you meet real life fiction characters, more so when they display such impressive array of skills".

"So I take it you know about Alice?" said the commander crossing his arms.

The Illusive man took a drag from his cigar before answering "How could I not. It has my entire science division in a bit of an uproar trying to find a logic explanation for the impossibility of this event. And according to Miranda's reports, Alice has the potential of virtually surpass the combined biotic prowess of the entire Asari matriarchal body with the power of her mind. Having the ability to make things happen just by thinking them, being able to break the barrier of space and time at a whim; imagine what this could do for our understanding of the workings of the mind. We could unlock the secrets about humanity biotic potential and improve the human condition in ways we could have never considered before. The things we could learn from this girl."He stated, his glowing eyes taking a faraway look for a few moments at the possibilities that were being conjured inside his head.

"Alice is not some lab rat for you to experiment with. She's a human being, who's lost in a strange place and away from her home. Her gifts are not a plaything for you to exploit". Shepard answered back in a fit of hot temper.

"Of course, I meant no disrespect, Shepard. I was just pointing out something worth to consider for a later date. After all, I wouldn't want this to interfere with your current mission. So I hope the girl's presence doesn't prove a distraction for you and your team. It would not do if you were to lose sight of the real objective we're trying to accomplish in here, commander."

"Alice has proved herself as a very capable fighter. Her abilities are certainly something that comes really handy to have on your side during a fight. She's a little rough on the edges I'll admit, but I'm positive that I can straight her out. Don't you worry about my team; we will be ready when the time comes to strike back at the collectors"

The Illusive man exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at Shepard with an expression that could be labeled as amused. "That's good, Shepard. Once again you prove that my decision of not sparing any expense in your reconstruction was the right one. Continue building your team commander. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress." He said before signing off, leaving Shepard with a bad feeling nagging him at the back of his head.

* * *

><p><em>Sometime later<em>

Shepard stood in front of the cloning vat that held Okeer's ultimate Krogan warrior. It had been placed in an empty storeroom in engineering that was overlooking the hangar bay. Yeoman Kelly Chambers, XO Miranda Lawson and even EDI had expressed their concern of having a more than likely ravenous Krogan on-board After all Krogan weren't know for having the most cheerful of personalities. They had told him that if he was set into awakening the Krogan, then at least he should take the proper precautions before doing so. Except in the case of EDI who told him opening that casket was against regulations; something about untested alien technology or something like that.

Of course the Commander, being the bad-ass soldier he is, didn't listened to any of his officers qualms. Citing; "He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now" So in short, the first thing they told him not to, the first thing he was set on doing.

He would have been practically alone on his own when that casket -containing a possibly savage and violent alien-was open (Again another brilliant idea) if it wasn't because Alice was also with him in the room. With nothing in particular to call for her attention, the young woman had stayed behind to witness the unloading and transportation of the Cloning Vat to his new dwellings. She was just leaving when she saw Shepard exit from the elevator and striding towards the storeroom. Being the curious girl she is, she decided to tag along and accompany him.

Which bring us back to the situation at hand. EDI gave Shepard one final ultimatum "Very well, Shepard. The controls are online. The switch –and consequences—are yours"

He took a look above his shoulder to address Alice. "Maybe you want to take a few steps back?" He said, with Alice promptly doing so without complaint.

Shepard approached the casket and activated the release mechanism. The liquid inside the big transparent tube was drained and the glass opened in half by the middle, allowing its occupant to take his first true breath in his life. The Krogan stumbled and fell on his knees, all wet and coughing water out of his lungs.

After spewing the liquid out of his system, the Krogan rose to his full height, towering over Shepard and everything else in the room. Alice had to admit that he looked quite intimidating in that faded gray armor of his. Shepard took a few tentative steps forward and approached the newly born alien.

For a moment, the Krogan looked mild enough and confused, still trying to take a grasp at his surroundings. But then all of the sudden his eyes gained focus and with the bellowing of a strained moan, the Krogan charged, colliding into Shepard head-on and hurling him like a rag doll.

"Commander!" Alice shouted, concerned for Shepard's well-being.

The Krogan then put an end to his mad dash by smashing the commander into a wall, effectively pinning him with an arm pressuring at his throat.

"Human, male" The krogan growled in a deep raspy voice "Before you die, I need a name"

Alice had already materialized her Hobby horse in her hands and was about to strike the bulky alien away from the commander. But Shepard, with a motion from his hand and a stern look, signaled her to stop. Against her urges, the girl relented and backed off, not willing to make a mistake that could prove fatal towards the commander in her haste.

Shepard took his attention back at his assaulter and looked him in the eyes "I'm Commander Shepard and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest you too relax." He warned in a tone that was both calm and commanding.

"Not your name. Mine." Rebuked the Krogan not caring about his answer, his voice sounding empty somehow. "I am trained; I know things, but the tank… Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow." The bulky Alien began to ramble in his thoughts "Warlord, legacy, grunt… grunt. "Grunt" was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do."

The newly designated "Grunt" seemed pleased with his choice in name. "I am Grunt. If you're worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me" he challenged.

Now Alice began to get anxious. The violent creature didn't seem of the idea of calming down any time soon. This volatile situation could burst at any moment and with the way he was holding the commander, it could very well end in tragedy. Her grip on her Hobby horse began to increase until her knuckles began to turn white.

Surprisingly, the commander managed to talk his way out and was able to convince Grunt to back down and join his crew. The promise of battle against tough enemies was more than enough to sway him. It came as a surprise to see that Shepard had his gun pointing all this time at Grunt's sternum. When did he pull that thing out? Alice never realized when it happened.

Grunt seemed amused by that trick; he seemed to like the Commander boldness "Ha! Offer one hand, but aim the other. Wise, Shepard. If I find a clan, if I find what I… what I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you." He said giving Shepard a nod of respect before walking off.

Alice released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Dear lord, she never expected things could get this tense when she accepted the commander offer of joining in his ventures.

* * *

><p><em>Even more time later<em>

Alice was sitting minding her own business in one of the tables in the mess hall. Shepard had ordered her to go and wait for him in there while he kept questioning Grunt. She didn't mind, the Krogan wasn't much for friendly chat. He had made a very rude comment about her complexion once he had spotted her. Stating how weak and fragile she looked and that he could snap her like a twig using only his thumbs. That didn't help him to earn any points with her; not that he would care. The confrontation would have escalated very quickly if it wasn't for Shepard stepping in. That's how she found herself sitting in the Mess hall.

At least her waiting wasn't boring. She had found Garrus in there and promptly engaged him in conversation. She liked Garrus, the Turian may not be the most polite person he knew, he liked to make vulgar comments from time to time. But he had a personality that she couldn't help but find charming, despite the ego and lame jokes. She really enjoyed having him around, not to mention the stories he liked to tell, which were very entertaining and funny to listen. Right know he was telling her about what The Commander and the rest of the ground team had done just before she arrived in Purgatory.

"So we are stopped the moment we leave the Normandy by a group of thugs, demanding we surrendered our weapons if we wanted to set foot inside Purgatory. One of them was stupid enough to get on Shepard's Face. Trying to be all hotshot, pointing his rifle at him, being all like –Relinquish your weapons!- but Shepard was not impressed, he was all cool and immutable. And replied by pulling his gun out –like this- aiming it towards the poor fool head and said-I will relinquish one bullet. Where do you want it?-"Said Garrus doing his best impersonation of Commander Shepard, much to Alice amusement.

She could barely hold back her laughter at such ridiculous rendition "yes, I didn't know the commander could be so wily in his replications."

"Yeah! So we basically enter in a bit of a standoff, until that corrupt Warden –his name's Kuril, if you remember- Appears and he's all like. – I'm Warden Kuril and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just standard procedure- But the commander didn't lose a beat and replied -It's my standard procedure to keep my guns with me at all times- and then began staring each other up. Trying to determine who was top dog. Of course Shepard managed to force Kuril to back down and he let us in with our weapons."

"I'm pretty sure he ended regretting that decision, after how things turned out." Alice proclaimed.

Their conversation had to be put on hold for a later, as Shepard approached them. "I hope you haven't been corrupting our newest addition Garrus. I would be really worried if she suddenly starts acting like you." Shepard jested at his old friend.

"Yes I know, it would be too much awesomeness for the ship to bear" Stated Garrus quite humbly.

"Well, at least she's more pleasing to the eye than you. By far"

Garrus huffed in mock indignation "You know I had to take that missile to keep the ladies off me, the only way I could get some peace and quiet was by marring this ungodly sexy face of mine. Oh! It's my curse for being so handsome."

"Yes, keep telling yourself that." Shepard deadpanned while Alice tried to stifle a laugh.

"Anyway, I'll have to leave you now to keep this young lady entertained on my behalf. There are still lots of calibrations that I need to finish. See you around, Shepard."

Shepard waved his old friend goodbye before turning his attention towards the young woman "Well Alice, I know I said I was going to instruct you in proper military doctrine. But I'm afraid that would have to wait for a little bit. I've just received a message from the council –That's the ruling body that governs the galaxy in case you don't know- They're requesting my presence for an emergency meeting."

"For the way you put it. It sounds pretty important" the girl pointed out.

"It is. The ship's already underway to the Citadel for this meeting. We will arrive in 3 hours. That's not enough time for me to begin with your instruction. But it is enough to begin teaching you the basics of how modern society works and bring you up to speed on all that's happened on Earth story in the last 300 years"

Alice pondered this new information for a few seconds and eventually raised a query. "Not that I doubt in your tuition abilities or anything, commander. But that seems to me a pretty tall order to accomplish in only 3 hours. How do you plan to attain that goal?"

"I'm glad you asked Alice. Because I have just the right thing for the job." Shepard said, lifting a finger for emphasis. He rummaged through the pockets of his uniform and presented a wrist-sized compact device to Alice "Here take this, your brand-new personal Omni-tool. If you're going to be around hanging with us in these modern age and time, is almost mandatory to have one. This one comes with the most recent version of the Galaxy codex already installed" Shepard explained while Alice fumbled with the device in her hands "It will tell you all you need to know of how the Galaxy is run day to day. Consider this a gift to you from my part"

Alice was at a loss for words, this was certainly a magnificent gift. Already, pretty well aware of the glowing device capabilities, having witnessed Mordin and Garrus use it to launch elemental attacks or interfere with the performance of any advance piece of technology with it. She would have never imagined that she would become the owner of one of such devices. The surprise was pretty evident in her voice.

"I don't know what to say. I… Thank you very much commander. I assure you I'll put it to good use" She replied in a rush of excitement, a foolish grin adorning her face. She quickly set on the task to examine her new toy, but after a few unsuccessful attempts to operate the device. It became quite clear that Alice didn't know how to use it.

"Ummm… I'm afraid I have no idea how to manipulate this complex device" She confessed lamely.

"It's nothing complex once you know how to use it. Here let me show you." And so the commander took a seat next to the girl and began to guide her on her first steps into the galaxy at large.

* * *

><p><em>Well there it is my most recent advance; hope it was good and all that. Also I have a little thing in store for next chapter, so make sure to keep an eye for the next update. And as always don't forget to review.<em>


	15. OMAKE- Not a plain Lady

**Author's note: **_Well look who's back. So I take it you people didn't enjoyed my little vacation. Well too bad, but anyway I was busy reading other people fictions on this site. I have favorite stories too. Goddamit it took me forever to read them. Is hard to read stories of 80 and 100 chapters in one sitting. but i'm sure you don't care, so anyway; Here's a little something to keep you people entertained while I work on the next chapter. So without further Ado, enjoy this little Omake from my part. Which has crack by the way; I've decided of put most of the cracks in Omake format so..._

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. All rights belong to EA. 'cept the Sandman bits.

**OMAKE**

**NOT A PLAIN LADY**

The Citadel. A massive space station renowned for being the greatest construction that has ever existed in all the recorded history of the galaxy; for untold eons it has stood as the galaxy's neural and political center. Each space-faring civilization that has risen and taken mastery over the stars, one after the other, has taken the Citadel as their ultimate seat of power, unaware of the dark purpose behind the real function of the space station.

For in reality the citadel was a massive transportation relay that connected deep within the black void that lingered between galaxies. It was the conduit from which an ancient race of synthetical beings bent in the eradication of all advanced organic civilizations would return. They were known as the Reapers; but for most of the Galaxy populous, the Reapers were nothing more but a myth, a story to which fright rowdy children at night. For the commander Shepard though, their threat was all too real.

But, regardless of how many species the Reapers have destroyed in their eternal quest of erasing organic life, it has done little to phase the immense space station. Civilizations have rise and fall, Empires have been forged and brought down, entire species have born and become extinct. Yet not even once in all its millions of years has the citadel stopped in its gentle spin over its own axis.

It was the sight of this eternal cycle that the Normandy was greeted with once it arrived on the Serpent Nebula.

"There it is, The Citadel! The Galaxy's central seat of government, pretty impressive isn't it kid?" Shepard declared watching through the windows of the Normandy's cockpit. He had invited the members of the ground team to join him and witness their arrival at the massive space station. Their answers had been less than promising.

Jacob was busy working in the armory. Mordin and Garrus had already an intimate knowledge of the Citadel inner workings and knew more than what they would preferably like, so they opted to remain on their stations and work in whatever thing that had their minds interest at the moment. Grunt, Jack and Zaeed simply did not care and blew him off. Only Alice and Miranda had been willing to accompany Shepard at the cockpit. But that was OK, Alice enthusiasm was making up for the absence of the others.

"It sure it's Commander! Never in my life have I seen a construction of such magnitude. Just look at its size! I'm sure all of London could fit nicely inside that thing." Said the young girl elated, peering through one of the cockpit windows, her face almost pressing on the glass.

Her amazement just increased once the Normandy approached towards one of the arms, allowing Alice to see that indeed and entire city resided inside the Citadel, one per each arm. She was mesmerized by the sight of long buildings stretching far like fingers into the sky and rows and rows of flying pods that ran across the gaps between buildings, all of it covered by sparkling lights coming from practically everywhere. It was a breathtaking sight.

"Curioser and Curioser" the girl muttered transfixed at the visage flowing in front of her eyes, she didn't noticed when Miranda who was beside her, turned on her direction and began to give her a pointed stare after recognizing such famous words from the book.

But unlike the young English lady, the Commander did notice. "Something wrong Miranda?"

Shepard's words caught the XO off guard, bringing her out of her lapse "Uh? No, it's nothing. Sorry Commander my mind was elsewhere; nothing to worry about." She said trying to step out of the spotlight.

The former Spectre would have inquired further if Alice had not suddenly spun around from her sightseeing and started assaulting him with pleas. "I want to go in there! Please, tell me you're going to take me with you in there" She said with childish excitement.

Shepard couldn't stop from smirking at her enthusiasm "Sure Kiddo! Everybody has to take the tour on the Citadel first-hand when visiting"

Miranda, however, had her reservations against that idea "Are you sure that's wise Commander? I have to question the suitability of such an idea. I'm not sure if bringing Alice out in a highly populated area would be a smart thing to do. Remember how she reacted at our modern discoveries when she first set foot inside the Normandy? What if she has another reaction like that while we are at the Citadel? It could end with disastrous repercussions. I'm pretty sure that C-sec would not react well to her… gifts. How do you intend to explain to the Alliance and the Council the things that Alice can do? That's some kind of attention we don't need right now, Shepard. I believe the best course of action would be to keep Alice existence a secret for as long as we can." She stated with the outmost professionalism.

Even though Shepard did not totally agree with Miranda, he had to concede she had a point. It would be really difficult for him to explain Alice's abilities to his superiors if they got wind of her existence. Indeed it was not something he was looking forward to do any time soon. It was hard enough for him already to try to convince them of the existence of the Reapers, never mind trying to explain them how he had stumbled upon a character from an old earth nursery rhymes book that has the ability to manipulate reality in any way she feels like with the power of her mind. Yes! that would end well, Alright.

The girl in question decided to let her opinion firmly known. "That's no fair Commander. So what if the workings behind all your knick-knacks and whatnots escape me? That should not be enough reason for you to think any less of me because of it. I have a pretty well leveled head on my shoulders if I say so myself. Sort of, well maybe is not all that set in place most of the time because of my tendency of losing it and going mad. But I do have a fair share of discretion to cast around"

"Yeah sure, because nothing could go possibly wrong if we let her ladyship run amok around the Citadel. And while we are at it, let's also cut an elephant loose inside a China shop too" Joker remarked from his seat without taking his attention away from the helm of the ship.

Alice didn't appreciate the helmsman sarcasm on the least "Now, just wait a minute. I'll admit I may be a bit unfamiliar with all your customs and rules on proper behavior, but that's not enough to make a plain lady out of me!"

Joker spun around in his seat to look at her, not catching her last comment pretty well "What did you just said?"

"I said I'm not a plain lady and despite my shortcomings none of you should think otherwise about me" She reinstated with certainty.

Even though Alice was speaking in a connotation that addressed her lack of knowledge about this modern age an era, it was clear that the significance was lost to Joker. For he began to blatantly stare at her chest and dared to make a pretty bold comment "Well to be honest you're not that much endowed on that department either" obviously such lack of finesse would not remain unchallenged for long.

Miranda was the first to call on his behavior "Mr. Moreau what the blazes is wrong with you!?"

"What do you mean…? EEEEK!" Alice squeaked in alarm once she realized she was being leering at and immediately crossed her arms in front of her budding breast in an attempt to retain her modesty against the indecent stare "You have some gall! Never in my entire life have I been so, so…" She was unable to finish her sentences; her outrage was so great that it began to interfere with her ability to speak.

"Jokerrrrr!" Shepard warned clearly not amused.

"What?" The pilot replied seemingly not taking the hint.

**SLAP!**

"Hmmph" Alice huffed in righteous anger "Even a dog knows how to behave" she stated with finality before storming off with purposeful stride. Leaving a hand shaped abrasion imprinted in Joker's cheek as a parting gift.

Shepard just gave a blank stare to the pilot "You know you had that coming"

Joker focused in rubbing his mangled before replying "Maybe, but she could have been a little less bitchy about it. Damn from someone so little she sure carries a mean punch. Oh Well, at least I have a nice rear view of her departure" Alice, who was able to hear that comment since she was still within hearing range, stopped stiff on her tracks.

"Joker, what the hell are you talking about now?" asked the commander with suspicion.

"I'm just saying commander. I never knew dresses could be so sexy until I met this girl. Have you seen the way it wiggles side to side when she walks? It's almost hypnotic" The pilot declared shamelessly.

Shepard and Miranda both groaned at the same time at Joker's inability to keep his mouth shut. Alice immediately brought her hands to cover her rear, her face flushing into a bright cherry red color at hearing such lewd comment.

Her fluster eventually passed by and was replaced by a cold determination. Her posture went rigid and her expression turned stern. She spun around and returned back to the cockpit with an attitude that screamed murder.

Catching sight of her terrible mood, none of the people inside the cockpit dared to move a muscle or utter a word in her presence. She walked deceptively calm and stopped right in front of the pilot looking at him right in the eyes. Joker suddenly felt a cold chill run down his spine seeing her harsh vengeful stare. He couldn't stop from gulping in desperation.

He tried to do a little of damage control the best he could "I was just saying, it's a pretty dress that you're wearing and I can't help but find it pleasing to the eyes. Didn't mean anything by that"

Of course it did little to change the girl's mood, fact it seemed to make the matter worse, because it snapped the little restraint she had left that she was trying to hold unto. She raised her hand up again with all the intention of delivering physical retribution towards the pilot for a second time.

Joker threw his arms in front of him in a pathetic attempt to protect himself from the girl's wrath "Please don't hit me again! I never expected you'd be so cruel as to beat a cripple" he wailed in desperation.

That made Alice pause in the middle of her assault. She turned her head towards the commander and gave him a pointed stare as if expecting an explanation.

"Yes that's true. Joker was born with a rare disease that makes his bones to be extremely brittle. One good hit from you would most likely be more than enough to break him. I would advise you from taking any kind of revenge that would bring bodily harm upon him, otherwise without him, who's going to pilot the ship?" the commander said, pretty calm trying to diffuse the situation and placate the girl's temper.

Said girl seemed to consider that bit of information for a moment and finally relented from attempting to murder Joker, her anger receding. "Very well, I'll spare you from my reprisal just this time. I trust this little display of my wrath will be enough incentive for you to refrain from making such tasteless comments about my person in the future." Joker just frantically nodded in acceptance.

"Still; I expect to receive some kind of compensation for this slight against my pride. So you…" Said Alice changing her sights towards the commander and pointing at him "Commander; will take me out on a nice little excursion down to the citadel where we will spend and enjoy, what I presume is going to be, a pleasantly delightful evening visiting the place and taking on the sights. And I will not take NO for an answer, is that clear?!" She declared with no room for argument

"Sure, no problem" replied Shepard almost too quickly. Man this girl could be quite scary when she wants it.

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I'll be downstairs to pass time with Mr. Vakarian, while you make the proper arrangements necessary for this little venture" she then turned sharply and proceeded to take her leave again.

None of the 3 crewmembers inside the cockpit spoke again until they lost sight of the young woman. Joker as usual was the first to break the silence.

"Commander; what the hell just happen?" he asked incredulous.

The commander replied while trying to keep his cool "I don't know Joker. But I got the feeling that it would be pretty detrimental for the good health of most of this ship crewmembers if I try to go against her wishes. Thanks for making my job easier by the way." he quipped with heavy sarcasm.

"Hey, why you're blaming me for this? You are the one in charge of the lunatics of this ship, why didn't you sent little miss high and mighty back to her room grounded and with no dinner?" Joker complained.

Miranda looked at him funny "You're kidding, right? You're sure you wish to challenge her while she's on such a foul mood. It's your funeral"

Shepard too had to give his own input "Well, if you're not liking the way I'm handling things. Be my guest and go tell Alice that you don't like her attitude, so she'll be staying confined on the ship as punishment. I'm sure she will be very grateful to you and give you the proper thank you while me and the rest of the team are busy on the Citadel"

That was enough to make Joker sing on a different tune "On the other hand; I've heard that going out for a walk does wonders for your health and is a very good way to release stress."

"Funny thing, I've heard that too. Just take us down and park the ship, will you? C'mon Miranda, let's go and get the team ready" Said Shepard putting an end to the conversation before walking out and leaving the helmsman alone to go an put things ready for a visit to the Citadel.

* * *

><p><em>There you go. Short, yes, but it should be enough to wet your appetites until next chapter.<em>

_Next on Madness Effect._

_A Visit to the Citadel_

_Meeting Kasumi._

_Ripping off stores with fake advertisement._

_A little meeting with the bosses_

_another Omake about the virtues of drinking in the job _

_and making the extremely expensive brand-new state of the art scanners of the Citadel explode._

_Stay tuned._


	16. The Galaxy's Neural Center

**Author's note: **Well fianally after another wait here's the next chapter... kind off. I promised a long chapter, but is taking me too much time so I had to split it. I tend to get quite strict with the ortography and such, won't publish anything until I'm satisfied with the structure and dialogue characterization. That takes a lot, I read, re-read and re-read and re-read and read once more my advances to make sure I'm not making a mistake. Obviously, even with my intense overseeing; errors have the chance of being overlooked, but that's to be expected. Anyway, just hope you enjoy this next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Mass Effect & American Mcgee's Alice copyrights belong to EA.

**Chapter 14**

**THE GALAXY'S NEURAL CENTER**

An air cab slowly descended and parked in front of one of the many security checkpoints that were located on several key sections around the citadel to ensure the sake keeping of the space station. The doors of the vehicle opened wide at its sides and the form of Commander Shepard emerged from its confines, quickly stepping down from the cab. Soon the rest of his team followed, appearing from the vehicle too. The group was composed by Miranda, Zaeed and Alice. The young girl pretty pleased with herself for having ensured to be brought along on this visit to the massive space station, she had already begun to gaze at all the wonders of her new surroundings during the short flight on the air cab.

Shepard was just able to move a few steps away from the vehicle when a nearby Holo-advertisement stand called for him specifically. "Commander Shepard. Enter the password and receive a free gift!"

"Commander, that big glowy thingy just talked!" Alice exclaimed with surprise, pointing at the Holo-stand "Could it be one of those VI's or AI's constructs that you employ, like EDI?"*****

**"**No Alice, it's just an Ad" replied Shepard "All it does is play a selection of pre-recorded messages when you stand near it, over and over again, about things someone wants you to buy."

"Got problems with collectors? Try Kasumi credit's service" The Ad beeped continuing with the function that it was made to do.

"Though I believe someone is trying to get in contact with us by using one of these." The former spectre remarked "C'mon, let's check it out more closely."

Once the group stood enclosing over the ad stand, it addressed Shepard directly. "Please tell me your password commander Shepard"

"Silence is golden." was the immediate response.

The pre-selected image in the ad fizzled out of existence, only to be replaced by the face of a hooded Asian woman "Good to finally meet you Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan." The woman said.

"Has Cerberus filled you in on the Mission?" inquired Shepard, not at the least surprised by her unorthodox way of communication.

"Honestly, I'm shocked they didn't come to see me sooner. My fault for being hard to find, I guess." Kasumi said sheepishly.

"What's with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in trouble or something?"

"I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous" Kasumi declared in a no-nonsense tone "Need to watch my step to keep it that way. I also needed to make sure all this was legit. And I have no doubts now – you're the real Commander Shepard" she added showing her reasons.

"What brought you to Cerberus?"

"That's a bit of a story. Short version, they were looking for me, so I trailed to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important mission... and were offering a serious signing bonus. I had a thing I need it help with, so I made them a deal. And here we are."

Shepard hazarded a guess. "I assume this deal is something I should know about."

"Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds." Kasumi mentioned sarcastically "I'm looking for my old partner Graybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back.

"I assume a Graybox is some kind of hardware?"

"It's a neural implant. Illegal in most places, stores memories, thoughts... secret codes, illicit information. This one in particular belonged to my partner, Keiji Okuda. We worked together for a long time, before Hock killed him."

The conversation moved foward among those lines. Shepard asked the thief to tell him about her old partner. She told him he was a hacker, one of the best. But in the end, he made a mistake by stealing something he shouldn't had. Some kind of highly valuable information that could spark a war, Shepard wanted to know what kind of information, but Kasumi couldn't tell him. Stating that Keiji never told her and store and encrypted the information among his own memories, hence why the Graybox was so important.

"To decode the information, you have to sift through all the time we spent together. Now those memories are all that's left of him." Kasumi stated with a tinge of melancholy in her voice.

"I can understand why you'd want to get it back." Shepard said, figuring out that the Graybox was more important to Kasumi in a sentimental sense than in a practical one.

"Getting it back will be easier with your help Shepard." Kasumi said in all honesty, hoping that the Commander would lend her a hand in recovering the Graybox.

"What's this heist you're planning?" Shepard asked getting to the heart of the matter.

Kasumi, however, was not going to give him that kind of answers just yet "Not here, Shepard. You'll get a briefing when the time comes. I need time to nail down the details, anyway. I've taking the liberty of getting you some evening wear, though. You'll want to look presentable."

Seeing that line of conversation would not go anywhere, Shepard steered to another topic "What do you know about Donovan Hock?"

"Mr. Hock is a well respected _businessman. _Arms dealer, murdered, generally not a great guy. His mansion's famous for being hard to crack. But I have a way in, and I think you're going to love it." Kasumi declared with the outmost certainty.

"I doubt Hock's the kind of guy who takes kindly to people sneaking into his house." Shepard pointed out, pretty sure in his assumption.

"I always expect trouble. That's why you're here." Kasumi replied pretty confident.

"If that's what Cerberus promised you, we'll get it done."

"It'll be fun. And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." After that last declaration, the glowing machine suddenly shut down. for a moment the group found themselves at a loss until they heard kasumi's voice coming from above.

"We should probably wrap this up. You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement." looking up, they saw Kasumi, in the flesh, looking down at them from the rafters in the ceiling. She probably had been there the whole time without the team noticing.

"See you on the ship Shepard." She said as parting comment before turning around and walking out of view.

"Wow!" Alice exclaimed, impressed by the thief's deviousness "What a delightfully clever person she turned out to be. I'm sure we would get along rather well, commander."

"Yup" Shepard agreed, before putting the team on the move again "Alright team, let's keep moving! We have lot of things still to do"

They approached the desk of the customs officer, who had just finished clearing a turian tourist. Shepard then stopped in his tracks and addressed Alice. "Listen kiddo, would you mind waiting for us in here for a minute while we speak with the attendee? I just need to ask her a couple o questions before we move on, ok! Please don't go anywhere; it'll be just for a moment."

"Sure Commander, I shall wait for your return while you deal with whatever bureaucratic proceedings you have to do. Don't worry, I'll make sure not to wander off or something." said Alice, promising to behave. Luckily for all, it would not be hard for Alice to keep her promise, because an Alliance drill sergeant was instructing a trio of recruits pretty close from where she was standing. They were being loud enough to draw her attention.

"This, recruits, is a 20-kilo ferrous slug." yelled the Sergeant, beginning with his speech "Feel the weight. Every five seconds, the main gun of an Everest-class dreadnought accelerates one to 1.3 light speed. It impacts with the force of a 38-kiloton bomb. That its three times the yield of the city buster dropped on Hiroshima back on earth. That means Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son-of-a-bitch in space. Now! Servicemen Burnside! What is Newton's first law?" he asked more like demanded the question to his subordinate. So far Alice was flabbergasted by the Sergeant's bold statements, she had never suspected that Sir Isaac Newton possessed such a darkest side.

Meanwhile, the recruit promptly answered to his superior in a crisp fashion, but with some nervousness in his voice nonetheless "Sir! An object in motion stays in motion, sir?"

"No credit for partial answers, maggot!" The officer in charge barked back, unsatisfied with the response.

"Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir!" The recruit supplied as an addendum to complement his original answer.

"Damn straight! I dare to assume you, ignorant jackasses, know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going 'till it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone's day, somewhere and sometime." That last piece of info was rather impressive and morbidly amusing to the XIX century maiden.

By now, Shepard and the team had already finished with their little conversation with the customs officer and were already alongside Alice to watch the closing statements of the Sergeant. "That is why you check your damn targets! That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution! That is why, Servicemen Chong, we do not _eyeball it!_ This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip!

"Sir, yes sir!" all the recruits replied in unison.

After that little show Alice couldn't help but feel impressed. "I didn't know that common soldiers were taught such a variety of advanced knowledge. You people must be really smart if you all go through the same extensive tutelage" she stated.

"The Alliance has some of the finest and thorough learning systems in the Galaxy." Shepard said, agreeing with her assessment "Soldiers are not only taught how to fight but also how to survive in all kinds of hostile environments, and to do that you need to have a grasp in certain advanced sciences and also being able to manipulate pieces of advanced technology; knowledge is power after all. But that's just not exclusive to soldiers. There's several branches in the navy that are not related to combat situations, and yet their importance for the overall performance of the army is not lessen in the least. We have the pilots, like Joker to fly our ships. Engineers, scientists, medics, support staff, tactical advisors and officers. So a deep instruction regarding their particular branch is a must; and that's besides the basic instruction that all recruits have to go through."

"Yeah, but all that book smart means nothing if you don't know how to properly handle yourself in the battlefield." Said Zaeed barging in the conversation "I remember this fresh-out-of-the-academy lieutenant back during the days of the retaking of Shanxy. All high notes and top marks. He was your regular by-the-book officer. Didn't survived past his first engagement, got half of his unit killed in the process too."

He scoffed, as if the memory of that event was like a sour taste in his mouth "The bloody moron never understood that war is no place for rules and regulations. Is a ugly, messy thing where only the most ruthless and savage killers have a chance to come out of there alive. No lesson can ever prepare you for the baptism of blood that only the battlefield can put you through"

Zaaed little speech did nothing but leave Alice pretty confused "So if the knowledge they're teach proves useless in the end, then what is the point of having a high learning institution on place?" She asked dumbfounded.

"It is true that no lesson can ever compare to first-hand experience." Shepard conceded "But a well instructed soldier has a better chance to survive in a battlefield than one who's not; for he will have a bigger array of options and ideas at his disposal when in a dire situation. Not only our soldiers are taught scientific expertise, but also tactics, strategy and discipline that would help them to come out of the most gruesome of engagements in one piece. Of course is not a guarantee, but it sure does help"

He took a little respite to let his words sink in before continuing "That's why besides your typical drilling in field tactics and rules of engagement, the Alliance also tries to show its troops the realities of war. Often revolving around the study of certain works like Zun Tsu Art of War"

"Zun Tsu. Now there is a man who truly understood the nature of war" Zaeed said approvingly "He said that war should be treated as the most serious stuff that you could ever get yourself into. That one should not undertake it unless you were going to be fully committed to it. He basically said that the best way to win a war is by lying, deceiving and outright cheating your enemies. And you needed to be creative to do that, like… feeding their spies with false information rather than focus on keeping your secrets well guarded from them. And always make sure to drive the enemy into a position where you have the total advantage and he is on a weak footing for a quick and decisive victory. In short, he taught that you should exploit your enemies weaknesses and always strike them from where they are the most vulnerable and unable to fight back, no matter how unfair or unsporting it may be. Victory and survival must be the only thing in your mind; everything else does not matter... (puff) Smart man." the old mercenary said as compliment after his little speech.

"Yes that's about right" Said Shepard, taking back the lead on the conversation "As you can see, the Alliance instructs his people in a wide variety of topics and lessons. The instruction becomes more elaborated and specialized according to rank and station"

"Wow! Then you must be a pretty cultured person, Commander. If your rank is any indication" Alice said daring a guess.

"Well yes, I did had to pass through a pretty demanding set of courses and tests to be in the position I am today. After finishing the Academy and serving a couple tours of duty, I was selected to join the Alliance N program. Which if you don't know is our military elite special operations division, their task is to deal with the most risky and delicate situations that are too dangerous for regular troops to handle. Only a scarce few pass the 6 weeks of training from hell to be fully inducted as an N operative. And those who do are regarded as the best soldiers that humanity has to offer."

A look of dawning realization felled on Alice, once she got the idea of the exact position that the Commander held in the established hierarchy of this advanced world "So that's what the N in your armor means. But what about the Seven?" she asked, curious.

"That's to determine rank within the N operatives. 1 represents the newly recruits and from there it goes all the way up to 7. Meaning, I held the most high and decorated position that one can posses among the Alliance special op groups."

Alice could just stare awestruck at the Commander after that revelation. "Wow… So that means that I would be hard pressed to find someone better qualified than you to carry on with my instruction... What are the odds of that? I think I must have born under quite the lucky star. I'll make sure to give the fullest of my attention to anything you wish to impart me from now, Commander." She professed with a smile.

"You better missy. I'll hold you to it..." And so the team got back on his way. They soon entered inside the checkpoint's tunnel to begin with their background and identity check. Shepard went first.

When he allowed himself to be scanned sounds and messages of error began to blare and appear in the screen of the officer in charge of the checkpoint, prompting him to look for the cause behind such glitch. The rest of the team pretty soon catched up with him with Miranda commenting "Obviously security has tightened since you were last here."

"Shut it down." The Turian officer overseeing the scanners said through his earpiece. "What? Do you seriously think... yeah okay." he then addressed the Commander "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Our scanners are picking up false reading. They seem to think you're... ah, dead."

"I was listed as missing in action a couple of years ago." Shepard said as a logical excuse.

The officer nodded, buying that answer "Would you mind checking with my captain? He can reinstate you in our system. He's just past the scanners, on your right." he advised before letting the group through the checkpoint without further delay.

But Shepard stopped for a quick last comment. "I would advise not to try to screen my teammates too. They're all cool, but see this young girl over here" he motioned towards Alice "She has some kind of a rare fluctuation with her biotics that makes them spike violently when any scanning device tries to take a reading out of her. I'll keep those scanners off if I were you just to be safe. I'm sure nobody is looking foward to explain to the Council why their newly installed scanners are suddenly starting to explode." He lied to ensure beforehand to have a valid excuse for any issue that could arise regarding Alice. The Turian officer acknowledged Shepard warning before the team got back on its way.

The first thing the group heard when the doors opened was a conversation between a rookie and a veteran police officer about the best way of roughing up a subject into talking. A prime example of rectitude among the law enforcement for what it seemed.

Shepard approached the senior officer sitting behind a desk in front of the group. The captain, he presumed. "I see the problem already, Commander Shepard" spoke the policeman, looking at his computer screen "My console says you're dead."

"You're not worried I'm some imposter claiming to be me!" Shepard asked a little dumbfounded at the officer certainty on his identity.

"We have the best screening equipment in the galaxy. Those scanners can sample DNA from skin flakes." Alice hadn't the slightest idea what DNA was, but she figured it must be something to be impressed at, if he can get it out of skin flakes alone " Hell, if you have unregistered gene mods, they can even figure those out"

No matter how interesting the conversation was turning out to be, the Commander had to press on "Your sergeant said you could help with that."

"Usually you had to go through the Station Security Administration to reactivate your ID's" the Captain replied "Then to Customs and Immigration to regain acess to the Citadel itself. And probably a stop by the Treasury. _Spending a year dead _is a popular tax dodge" The sudden embarrassing silence and Shepard plain expression of _As if, _were all the indication that the group needed to predict the Commander answer. Alice wasn't surprised; she too wouldn't be keen on dealing with all that bureaucratic red tape.

The C-sec captain reached the same conclusion too. "But I can see you're a busy man. So how about if I press this button right here, and we call it done?" he said motioning towards said button.

Now Alice didn't mind if this new approach saved them from doing all that pesky paperwork and prevented them from wasting precious time. But she had to question the legality of such action.

Shepard was of the same mindset. A small subtle query later and the captain replied in a pretty carefree attitude. "There's no way to fool the DNA scanners in that tunnel. You're you. Why wait in long lines and fill out a mass of useless hardcopy paperwork to get to the same place?" he shook his head sideways, showing how much he believed all of these formalities to be uneccesary "The Council does everything by the book. They've had thousand of years to write it. Sometimes things need to be done without a comitee vote." he said getting rather worked up about the issue.

"You're not big on formalities, are you?" Shepard assumed.

"I'm with them right up until they keep people from doing their jobs" the Captain said before proceeding to push the button on his console to allow Shepard identifications and passports to be released "There. I just saved you about nine days of running around. That said, you should head up to the Presidium and tell them you're still alive. The Council probably wants to talk with the one who saved their scaly asses."

Shepard pondered briefly in the pros and cons of having the Council backing and access to the spectres resources. Voicing his opinion led to a brief commentary from the captain of how the Council didn't spare resources when regarding C-sec training and equipment.

Shepard then decided to ask a few questions about C-sec current status, especially the increase of human personnel in its ranks.

The answer was fairly simple. Sovereign attack on the Citadel had left C-sec ranks pretty thin. In order to avoid from being undermanned, the higher-ups couldn't give on the luxury of rejecting any able body willing to serve.

Next followed a series of questions regarding the Citadel ongoing repairs after the attack, Directions and main points of interest in the section where the group was currently at and of course a proper introduction with the Captain, whose name turned out to be Bailey. Shepard eventually had to end the conversation and say their goodbyes, they couldn't stay there talking the whole day and they had already taken enough time from Captain Bailey as it was. So the team had to move on, and enter finally in what was known as Zakera Ward.

Alice was enthralled at all the bustling activity inside the arm. The ligths and flashing advertisements floating everywhere, from walls, ceilings, stands and windows either at ground level or from the tall buildings that stretched into the sky. The multitude of people going out with their bussiness, many of them from species she had yet to met. Blue women with hard-scale tendrils instead of hair, surface-walking glowy Jellyfishes, how curious? Big humped four legged creatures that resembled beasts of burden, only more massive and sentient. And little round people, wobbling around totally encased in some kind of suit. Those she thought quite jocose.

Oh! She had the feeling she was going to enjoy her visit to the Citadel.

* * *

><p><em>Well that's it for now, still working in the next part of this chapter to be totally of my liking. So you will have to wait until I decide to give it the go ahead and publish it. If this chapter wasn't totally of your agreement remember that is just to advance the story further. We still have a bit to go before getting to the interesting parts.<em>

_*** **If you wonder how Alice knows about AI's remember I included a scene in a previous chapter were I hinted that Alice had a long conversation with EDI in order to escape from boredom. Obviously one of the first topics that she should had brought out would be what EDI is. _


	17. A meeting with the bosses

**Author's note: **Finally it's done. This new chapter is all ready to go. Man! It really took me awhile to write it. Life and such, but whatever! Here you have it, enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 15**

**A MEETING WITH THE BOSSES**

Alice was humming to herself, happily, while fiddling with her new omnitool. So far, this little trip to the Citadel has proven most lucrative beyond her expectations. Of course one cannot say the same for the rest of the team.

For starters; Alice had the tendency to trot off towards whatever thing that fancied her attention. Considering the fact that she hails from an era were space travel was just a concept that was beginning to be considered as a feasible enterprise only in books. That meant, practically everything inside the Citadel shiny or loud enough was enough to catch her notice.

Often accompanied by a flurry of questions and comments. "My, my, what a weird contraption? What's this? Ohhh, what is that? How curious. So many pretty colors! It talks! How is that possible? How does it fly? What'll they come up next?" and so on and so forth.

Obviously that translated into a massive headache for Shepard and his team, as they had to chase after the little spitfire to make sure she didn't get into trouble. It was like dealing with a little child, and on that thought lay the measures they had to take.

So it was with a heavy sigh that Shepard took hold of Alice's hand and began to guide her around as one would do with one's own children, the embarrassment was unbearable. Alice, at first was rather alarmed at the Commander's boldness, but she got over it quickly enough after realizing that it was just an action taken by him to personally handle her tour over the Citadel. She even began to enjoy it after a while; after all, it's not every day when a proper gentleman has the disposition to take her out for a walk and show her such wondrous sights like those she was seeing right now. That and the Commander's embarrassed expression was rather endearing, maybe that was the reason why she was enjoying herself so much.

Of course to Shepard, the sentiment was all the contrary. He so wanted for the earth to open and swallow him whole right now, it didn't help that his teammates found his current predicament to be a perfect opportunity to tease him. Yes, even Miranda; somehow she found the image of the Commander and Alice walking and holding hands to be rather cute, enough as to pull a smile out of her. Of course she had to let them known her opinion much to Shepard's chagrin. Zaeed, on the other hand, preferred simply to make a series of comments pointing how sissy the Commander looked.

Eventually Shepard managed to tune out his companions jibes. But just when he had thought himself beyond their petty mockery, it was when his suffering got a turn for the worst when he found himself temporarily blinded by a bright flash. When his vision cleared, he discovered that bystanders were taking photographies out of him; which translated in another round of laughs from his teammates at his expense. This certainly wasn't why he signed for the military.

After a very stressful ordeal, Shepard managed to carry on with his supply gathering. They visited almost all of the most important stores in the Citadel. The Commander made use of his charm to obtain price discounts in every single one of them.

Usually Alice would have frowned over the dishonest practices that the Commander employed to gain said discounts. False advertisement could get you into a lot of trouble, but she let it slide because of the wonderful gifts (:cough: _bribes _:cough:) that Shepard bought for her with his roguish ways. The merchants on this place must not be very bright if all of them fall for the same trick.

Actually, those gifts were also part of the plan to keep Alice in check. Again, since she spoke and acted like a child, some actions with that train of thought in mind had to be applied. He bought her several apps for her omnitool, among them videogames; which is why she has been rooted to the same spot for the last two hours, doing a little button smashing on her omnitool.

"Mmmph, c'mon... Do what I tell you!... Careful with the fire... Yes that's it!... No, not that way. Jump the other way... Be careful with the turtle. Uff... that was a close call... Oh no! Is the big turtle with spikes that breaths fire... He's going to kill me with one of his projectiles, Noooooooo... (Sigh) Back to the checkpoint I guess. That turtle, he always kills me. But I will not yield so easily. I'll find a way to overcome this challenge even if is the last thing I do. You hear me! You will not stop me; I shall emerge victorious and save the princess from your villainous clutches."

"Very well, let's try it once more"

... (Tap sound)

... (Tap sound)

... (Tap sound)

"Oh yes, a fire flower, now all my enemies will burn in my wake"

" Aha! We meet face to face again my pernicious adversary. This time the outcome will be on my favor... Go on kill it, KILL IT! Why he doesn't die? Oh! Is useless, my projectiles are not able to hurt him... Mmmph; maybe if I try from a different angle. I believe it's possible to jump past him... Uh? What this lever do?... Oh, it destroys the hanging bridge, YES! I won. I won. I knew I would be able to defeat him eventually, wasn't that hard in retrospective. Oh well, time to end this. Now that I cleared this game, maybe it's time to try one of the others."

...

...?

"What do you mean the princess is in another castle?... But... But I worked myself to death to even get here. Now you're telling me that I have to go through the same agony again? That's not fair!"

(_clearing throath_) While Alice was deeply immersed on her epic quest, the Commander took the chance to finish with the rest of his shopping list. He left his two companions to keep an eye on her while he attended his business. They didn't need to try too hard, the girl's attention was shut to all 'cept her omnitool. Now that there were no more pending issues, it was time to meet with the Council.

"Hey Kid, How you like those videogames I bought you?"

"They're unforgiving Commander. The slightest of mistakes and I get terribly punished for my mishap. And the enemies are not of the mind of giving me any kind of leeway whatsoever. Ugh! They're becoming as annoying as that cat."

Shepard nodded in faux understanding, not caring in the slightest on the inside. He had an important meeting after all. "That's good and all Alice, but I'm afraid we don't have the time to help you beat your new games. I still need to meet with the Council, I've kept them waiting long enough as it is"

"Uh?" the girl wheezed, having completely forgot the reason why they were in the Citadel in the first place. She brought her hands to her temples in alarm once her mind caught up with the situation "Blimey! That's true; you have official business to attend to. I feel so ashamed for holding you away from your duties. Please, forgive my lack of consideration Commander, I got too caught up with all these new shiny inventions that I forgot you have pressing matters in need to be addressed"

Shepard waved her concern aside with a reassuring smile. "Nah, that's okay kid. I had to pick some supplies anyway. But now that's done, it's time for us go and meet with the bosses. So c'mon, save your advances and get off that bench. You'll get the chance for another try after my business with the Council is concluded" he said prompting her to get up.

They reached as far as the stairwell tunnel that connects each individual level of the station together, when Miranda voiced her concern.

"Shepard. You know we can't let Alice come with us to speak with the Council?" She said in low-voices.

The Commander stopped in the middle of the transition space between floors to address her Second-in-command. "Yes I know is not a good idea -Scratch that- Is a terrible idea. But, I really don't want to have her off my sight while I'm speaking with the Council. I will feel much at ease knowing she's not running wild around the Citadel... Again! I don't want a repeat of the last hours after I finally managed to calm her down." he said, cringing at the memory of all the embarrassing things he had to suffer before he got the idea of buying videogames to Alice to keep her in line.

"Besides I'm going to have you two with me to help me make sure she doesn't do something to freak out the Council."

Their conversation was interrupted by a rich cultured voice coming from behind the Commander. "I'm afraid is going to be a little more complicated than that Commander. Being around Alice is pretty much as signing up for quite the crazy ride; her madness notwithstanding of course."

Shepard choked between words. Of all the worst possible moments! Sure enough, he turned around and was met by the long arrogant smirk of Cheshire.

"Oh is just you, Cat. What is it that you want?" Said Alice, dismissing him already.

"Well, there's been pretty high emotions' fluttering around wonderland as of late. I was curious and came to see the reason behind such arousal. There are not many things that can make your blood run hot, after all." Said the cat pretty haughtily.

Shepard called on that statement "Wait! You can sense Alice current mood?"

The Cat scoffed at him for such inane question "I'm a creation of her mind that exists inside her head. It goes to tell that I would be aware of her true feelings. We, who dwell in wonderland, have a deep knowledge of all she experiences. All she sees, we see, all she feels, we feel, all she knows, we know. There's nothing she can hide from us. We know her better than she knows herself, even though she likes to act the fool, pretending we do not by being contrary." Said girl in question huffed in indignation and tossed a glare at the feline for his remark. He was not moved by it in the slightest.

The Commander stepped in, not in the mood for any ruckus while inside the Citadel. He peered to both sides of the tunnel to make sure no one was around to see the talking cat. Thankfully, the coast was clear. "Enough, This no time or place for bickering. You had your peek now be on your way. I don't know how I'm going to explain your existence if someone walks on us and sees you." He said between whispers with a very serious expression.

The cat however was not one to agree easily. "If you're worried that my mien may put any of the creatures and plebeians around this place unease, then don't! For I have a trick under my paw to veil their eyes from discovering my true nature" He said, before his body began to change.

His limbs started to stretch and his height to increase. You could see his bones cracking and separate to accommodate his new form. His fur retracted around his body and in its place a stained and drab grey business suit clothed him. Somehow, he was now wearing footwear, just a couple of formal deep brown evening shoes and on the top of his head a Fedora appeared covering his features, only leaving his long disturbing smile to be seen.

It was rather impressive, and unnerving, to witness Cheshire's metamorphosis from a giant mangy feline to a, for all intent and purposes, human: If one ignored his ashen skin tone -Or at least humanoid in figure- He looked like a tall, gaunt man, extremely so, he was more bone than flesh as his long bony hands could show. His fingers ended in long sharp bloody-stained claws instead of nails. His smile remained the same, which looked outright terrifying in the now reduced size of his head. Long serrated teeth soaked in blood inside crimson lips did nothing to ease the feeling of creepiness. And if you could manage to steal a look underneath his fedora, you would see two shining golden orbs staring right back at you.

All in all, he could pass himself as random stranger if he had too, minus his most freaky features; quite convenient to tell the truth.

Shepard and his cohorts could only stare dumbly at the show, Alice had a look that said "_and only now you decide to tell me you could do this all this time"_.

"Well, that certainly save us a lot of trouble" said the commander lamely.

"You're not seriously considering taking him with us to see the council too?" Miranda said turning to give Shepard a horrified look, showing how much she dreaded the notion. "Is bad enough we have to take Alice as it is."

"What else can we do? We cannot simply leave them alone without supervision in the middle of the Citadel." The former spectre shot back. "Would you like if I leave them here with only Zaeed to keep an eye on them?"

The old mercenary scoffed at such idea. "You must be out of your god-damn mind if you think I'm going to let you rope me into watching the little pipsqueak and her pet all by myself. I'm not taking that job unless you get me an entire regiment to watch my back in case she goes bonkers." Alice resented him for that comment.

Shepard gave a look to Miranda as to prove his point. "See… They're coming with us. And let us pray that they don't do something to make the Council lock them up and turn them into lab rats"

* * *

><p>Several minutes and an air cab trip later, the quintet was standing right outside the Human embassy in the Presidium; the inner ring that connects every arm of the Citadel together.<p>

They stepped inside the office of councilor Anderson and found him in the middle of a meeting with the rest of the Council via Holo-Vid. "Oh, Commander. We were just talking about you." Said Anderson when he took notice of Shepard.

The Commander was glad to see his old mentor again after two years "It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you right."

The former captain shared that sentiment too. "There've been some rough spots. It's good to have you back."

Their little reunion was cut short by the... not so gentle interruption of the Salarian Councilor; Valern. "We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are... unsettling."

His Asari counterpart, Tevos, spoke next. "We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth" Alice found that little piece of info to be rather impressive. The man who recently had decided to take her under his wing, had in fact, saved the lives of the leaders of this new multi-species government by himself. What an honor! She only wished to she had a better knowledge of the Commander's past. This kind of information is not something one could afford to go around without knowing.

"Saren wasn't the one commanding the Geth. It was the Reaper, Sovereign." Said Shepard, reminding the Council of the true danger.

"Ah yes... Reapers" exclaimed the Turian Councilor, Sparatus, showing his skepticism by doing air quotes with his fingers at the mention of the word Reapers. How rude of a behavior, thought Alice of him after such display "The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." and very grating too... Wonderful.

Anderson addressed his former protégé again. "Shepard, no one else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you the truth about the Reapers, Only you and your crew spoke to Sovereign." He said cutting right to the heart of the problem. "I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks."

Shepard tried to plead his case by telling the Council to return to Ilos and speak with Vigil. Sadly he got a disheartening response that brought an end to that option. The Council had already sent experts to investigate the ruins of Ilos. They found the VI no longer operational and no clue that made any mention of the Reapers. So in short, there was no evidence that could dissuade the Council from believing the Geth being responsible for Sovereign's attack.

Sparatus kept dismissing Shepard's claims further and even went as far as to put the Commander's sanity into question "This Reaper theory proves how fragile your mental state is. You have been manipulated- by Cerberus and, before them, by Saren."

But Shepard was not willing to yield despite the setbacks. "Saren was an organic. The geth would never accept him as their leader. They only followed him because he was Sovereign's agent."

Too bad for him that the Council was too stubborn in their belief that the Reapers existence was nothing but a great hoax from Saren to control the Geth and deceive him. They didn't listen to his pleads, no matter how much he warned them. "It was part of his plan to attack the Citadel. The Reapers are just a myth. One you insist in perpetuating" Said Sparatus accusingly.

Tevos followed up after his colleague. "We believe you believe it, but that doesn't make it true"

Shepard was starting to get fed-up of the Council inability to see the truth. "I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I sacrificed human lives to save this Council."

Tevos demeanor became troubled all of sudden. "We are in a difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus- an avowed enemy of the Council; this is treason, a capital offense"

Alice had enough of the Council by this point. How they dare to treat his new friend, who's been nothing but kind with her with such disrespect; a hero, who is the only reason they're breathing today as they claim. What kind of gratitude is this? She would not stand for that.

Anderson opened his mouth to complain, but before he could raise his voice, Alice beat him to the punch and walked right in front of the Council faces. "How dare you turn your back against the commander? Is this how you show your thanks to the man who saved your worthless hides. I've seen snakes that are more appreciative to those who lend them a hand than you."

Needless to say, it didn't sit well to the Councilors pride. Specially Sparatus. "Shepard! Who is this brat that dares to address the council with such disrespect?!" he said infuriated.

Alice walked with purposeful stride and stood right in front to the Turian hologram. The other people in the room were too speechless to try to stop her. "My name is Alice Liddell! And you sir! Are being most rude and without manners." She stated with finality before pushing the holographic image of the Turian councilor.

It wouldn't have been worth of notice in any way if it wasn't for the fact that instead of her hand passing through thin air, Alice managed to physically move the Alien a step back. He even felt her touch and the pressure she exerted to displace him.

Obviously the reaction of the Turian councilor wasn't something one would call mild.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE SPIRITS!"

Shepard, for all he had feared that this specific occurrence could come to pass, was really pretty calm when the proverbial shit had finally hit the fan. He could practically perceive the precise moment when everything went to hell.

"SHEPARD! How in?... She touched me! I felt her, how did she manage to touch me! What trickery is this?"

The other 2 council members were seriously out of their depths after witnessing the outburst of their Turian counterpart. "

"Sparatus!" Tevos called at him. "Settle down, this kind of behavior is unbecoming of a council member."

"I will not settle down! The little pyjak assaulted me physically by just touching my hologram. And no! Don't look at me as if I'm crazy, I know what I felt. You saw her pushing me away. I want that human arrested and interrogated until she tells us how she pulled that stunt."

Tevos tried to suppress a sigh that threatened to escape her lips; it was beneath someone of her station. Instead she took a long breath before addressing the commander. "Shepard, would you mind explaining us who this girl is?"

Luckily for all involved, Shepard had already an excuse to get Alice out of this pinch. He had been devising a good one since the moment it was decided that Alice was going to come with them. Hope for the best but plan for the worst, as they said.

"Yes, of course." He began by introducing the girl. "Meet Alice, she's a biotic Savant that I bumped into, Alongside Ches -who's over there-" He pointed at the emaciated individual at the back of the room, who tipped his hat at them at them and almost scared the Council shitless with his creepy smile. "While investigating the missing colonies in the Terminus Systems.

Tevos glanced at Cheshire warily before addressing the commander once more. "Very well, we follow you so far commander. Now care to explain why Sparatus is all worked up."

"As I said Alice is a biotic savant. She's able to do things that might be considered impossible even to the most powerful of Asari matriarchs. She can affect and manipulate everything that is within her line of sight. That includes people speaking from light years away through Holo-vid." The befuddled looks of the Council made him pause for a second. "Yes we were the same as surprised as you are when we discovered this particular skill of her."

Despite what many would think, is not that easy to bluff the council. They tend to be skeptical about most things after all. "I'm not fully convinced. She didn't display the usual purple distortion that acts as a sign of Biotic potential" said Valern.

"Ah but that's just the trick. Not only she has an incredible amount of power, but also a perfect degree of control over her abilities" Cheshire snorted mentally at that lie. Alice in control of her gifts, right… and he was known for his repudiation of riddles. "She can focus her power in selected places on her body, thus reducing the tell-signs of biotic presence to zero. She can perform any kind of biotic trick without making anyone suspect it's her."

"I can?" Alice mentioned dubiously.

Shepard gave her a look, making her mentally wince. "Yes, you can Alice. Or at least I have faith you can. I know we still haven't fully tested your proficiency in every single of the biotic abilities known to man. But I'm pretty sure you'll have no trouble seeing how well your tests have gone so far." Shepard congratulated himself mentally at his quick thinking. He hoped the girl didn't jeopardize the situation any further by making more slips of her tongue.

Alice was emboldened by the commander's words. "Yes, of course I can!" She brought a finger to her chin in thought and took a moment to remember all the things she witnessed Jack perform during their last mission before an idea came into her mind. She addressed the Council again with a sinister smile. "So either you show the commander the respect he deserves or I will be forced to take matters into my own hands." That little statement was enough to make everybody in the room to look at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Alice! What are you doing? You cannot go and threaten the Council like that?" Said Shepard, starting to grow alarmed at the girl's attitude.

"I'm not threatening anybody. I'm making a promise. They've been awfully rude so far and it's about time for someone to step forward and teach them a lesson."

Councilor Sparatus was less than amused with the current situation "This is getting ridiculous. Shepard, you better rein that girl with you on line, before we decide to put her under arrest for misbehavior." He threatened.

Of course Alice could not simply let things be. She was a stubborn one, after all. "Not before you offer your most sincere apologies to the commander for your lack of gratitude. I command you to apologize to him."

Sparatus looked at her as if she was insane. Which was true, but he didn't know that. "YOU COMMAND US! Do you have any idea who you're talking to? We are the council, the ruling body of the greatest government in the galaxy, conformed by representatives of the most powerful species in the known universe. What could you possibly have that would make us to do anything?"

Alice rose an eyebrow, pretty sure of herself because she had an Ace-In-The-Hole. "I can make you do everything that I would wish for, whether you want it or not. For starters, I can make you FLOAT!" she commanded making a rising gesture with her hand as if she was moving things with her mind.

A little reality distortion became briefly visible, not around Alice profile, but from Sparatus hologram. And true enough, all the people inside the room were soon treated by the sight of the Turian councilor floating upside-down in midair. Rather remarkable considering that he wasn't even present in the room but speaking from several miles away through holo-com.

"PUT ME DOWN IN THIS INSTANT YOU LITTLE DELINQUENT!" he demanded rather worked up.

The other 3 councilors could only stare incredously at the display, well councilor Valern was more on the lines of amazed mumbling something that sounded like "Incredible" while becoming intrigued by the girl skills.

Shepard was having enough of such racket. "Alice put the councilor down immediately!"

"As you wish." Answered the girl. "Uh!... how do I do that?" she asked lamely. That wasn't reassuring in the least.

Shepard became pretty incensed at that answer. "Alice, please! You're embarrassing me in front of the council! Put him down already! Snap your fingers or something." He rambled.

Alice stood pensive for a second trying to imagine how that would work before nodding in agreement. "Very well, I think I got it. Here goes nothing." She declared before snapping her fingers. The sound resonated quite loudly in the now sudden quite chamber.

Sparatus only had a second of realization before becoming aware of how bad that idea was. "No, wait a minute! Nooooooooooo!"

**THUD!**

The sound of a body hitting the floor rather hard echoed in the room. For a moment, the collective train of thought of all of Shepard's crew was… Shit!

Sparatus rose back again with some difficulty, trying in vain to save what little dignity he had left. He tossed a very dirty look at the girl. "That's it! I've had enough of you. I order for this girl to be tossed in jail and Shepard to be brought in under the charges of treason."

Anderson would have none of it, however. "Hold down a minute. Your sentence goes too far. Shepard is a hero. I'm in this council, too, and I won't stand and let this whitewash continue."

Tevos tried to offer a better solution, given that it was her job to mediate things since she was an Asari. "Let us not be so hasty about it. Commander, Tell us more about Alice, her biotic potential is indeed amazing as you said".

Shepard rubbed the back of his head, not sure how to answer that question. "The truth is we really don't know much about her. We just stumbled on her during a… raid on a mercenary base, where we witnessed her taking and entire platoon all by herself. Seeing her potential, I decided to take her with me and induct her in my team. I felt she could be of great help on my mission."

Tevos pondered that answer for a second before pressing further. "Very well, I can understand that. But what can you tell us as to how her biotics work? What kind of implant does she have that can allow her to influence targets over great distances?"

"Yeah… about that; she doesn't have one. We checked; there is no evidence that she's been submitted to any kind of procedure on her person whatsoever. What she does, it's all her."

That answer leaved all members of the council stunned-stupid. It was Valern who spoke first. "You mean she's a natural biotic like the Asari?"

Tevos managed to snap out of her stupor. This new revelation was outstanding indeed. "I thought humans needed implants to have access to their Biotic potential. I never imagined that they could use them the way my species can."

Now that he had a grip to hold too. Shepard's bluffing came easily to him like a natural. "We don't. Alice is the first person I know, probably the only human in the entire galaxy that has a natural affinity for biotics and can use them without the need of an implant the same way the Asari can… You can see why I decided to bring her on my team".

"Fascinating" Tevos said appraising the girl with a new light in lieu of this discovery.

"We would like to study her abilities more deeply; if what you say is true commander" Spoke Valern "This could allow us to make big steps in understanding the natural growth of biotic potential through the evolution of a species."

"Yeah… I'll have to give you a rain-check on that subject. Right now I'm kind of busy investigating the missing colonies in the terminus systems and I need her on my team. That is also the only reason why I'm in a temporary truce with Cerberus in the first place. Believe, I have no doubt they're going to stab me in the back the moment our partnership is over" said Sheppard, earning a glare from Miranda behind him that he couldn't notice.

"That is a shame Shepard, but maybe there is a compromise we could reach regarding you return. Not a public acknowledgement, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support." She gave a look to Sparatus that told him he better go along with her plan if he know what was good for him. Everybody was so edgy right now.

Sparatus sighed, caving in at his older and wiser counterpart insistence. He had to let his outrage slide and do his part in mending bridges. "Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, alongside keeping that girl as far away as you can from my sight, The Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre."

"What does that mean? Will I need to start filling reports?" Shepard asked with mild annoyance.

Valern answered to him. "That won't be necessary. This is a show of good faith on our part"

He was superseded by councilor Tevos next. "We cannot become involved in an investigation regarding the missing colonies in the Terminus Systems. But Spectre reinstatement shows our support of you personally."

Shepard casted a glance towards his former commanding officer, Anderson replied with a nod to tell him to go ahead and take the offer.

"I accept your offer. It's good to have the Council on my side."

"Good luck with your investigation, Shepard." Tevos said in good nature. "We hope for a quick resolution... and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus." after that closing statement, the Council shut off all communication, making their holograms to disappear.

Anderson stopped holding his breath. "Well, that went better than expected. You realize the Council offer is just symbolic. They won't actually do anything"

"Even if they don't help, I might as well stay on good terms" Shepard said in a casual tone.

"True enough. Don't worry about the Council or the Alliance. I'll find some way to keep them off your back. Shouldn't be too hard as long as you keep to the Termynus Systems"

Their conversation was interrupted when the doors of the embassy opened revealing the human embassador Udina, who strolled inside the room. "Anderson, we need to talk about—Shepard! What are you doing here?"

The commander groaned "Oh great! I've got a long list of people I don't want to see, your name is right at the top."

"The feeling is mutual, believe me." Udina piped back, acidly. "Your return is a bureaucratic nightmare for us."

Anderson tried to placate him by explaining the situation. "I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We just finished our meeting."

"You what? Councilor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?" Udina said clearly not too pleased with that Anderson had done.

"The Council reinstated my Spectre status. They're just happy I'm staying out in the Terminus Systems."

"Yes… I could see how that arrangement works best for both parties. But you really shouldn't have taken a step like this without consulting with me first, Councilor." Udina warned pointing at Anderson.

The human councilor didn't take kindly to Udina's meddling "I don't answer to you, Udina. Why don't you go to your office and think about it for a while?"

"Of course, Councilor. Good day to both of you." Udina said in an ass-kissing manner before leaving.

"Sorry about that. Udina never gotten over the fact that I got the council position instead of him, sometimes I need to put him in his place."

"What do you keep him around for?" Shepard said in jest.

"He's got his uses. And if you want something done on the Citadel, he knows who can make it happen. Plus he's always happy to attend to all those formal diplomatic functions I can't be bothered with."

Shepard stirred the conversation to more pleasant topics. He asked Anderson how he's been faring for the last years. The answer was direct; being a member of the council is not all that is cracked up to be. The stubbornness of his peers makes him want to hit his head on a wall. But he cannot fault them for wanting to live in bliss ignorance. Not when the truth is a horrible and terrifying thing. For who in his right mind would want to know that there is a race of humongous dreadnaught size monstrous robo-squids waiting in the darkness of space to eliminate all organic life. But they have no choice but to be ready when the time comes to face them.

Shepard tried to lighten the mood by telling Anderson in good nature to drop everything and come with him to the Normandy for some grand adventure. As much as tempting as the offer was, Anderson was too busy to go riding through half the galaxy, kicking ass and taking names. Let the young have their fun; he was too old for that sort of things anymore.

Shepard then made inquiry about the Citadel on-going restoration projects after Sovereign attack. Anderson told him that only the Presidium has been fully brought back up to speed. It was already open for business after few weeks after the attack. Although there is not much surprise that they prioritized the Presidium first above all else; but a lot of areas in the wards are still in shameful conditions, it was estimated that a fully restoration would take five years. Luckily for all, the keepers were of great help in the repair efforts.

Shepard about how the Council couldn't tell that Sovereign is way too advanced to be a piece of Geth technology by looking at the wreckage. Anderson told him that the examination of Sovereign remains has been less than stellar. Too much rubble from the attack and the pieces of the wrecked Reaper got spread through all of the Citadel sections, many of which have gone missing during the restoration efforts either because of the keepers or unauthorized salvage. In short, it's a mess to try accounting the remains of Sovereign.

Then he asked about the ongoing war with the Geth. Anderson called it more like a clean-up than a war; they hadn't any major confrontation in months. Most of the fear and mysticism that the troops used to have about the Geth is all but gone. Their time as the boogeymen of the galaxy has long passed.

And finally, the Commander asked about how his old teammate Kaidan, now promoted to commander, was doing. Anderson told him he was fine, the brass put him on a special mission so he couldn't tell Shepard what his old friend was up to because of his ties with Cerberus; much to Shepard's disappointment.

There was nothing more for the Commander to do but to give his goodbyes to his old mentor. Anderson did the same and wished him good luck, telling him he regretted not being able to do anything more for him but if he ever needed someone to talk; he would always be there for him.

Shepard approached his companions with a serious expression. "Let's go, I need a drink." He said, wanting to leave this place already.

* * *

><p><strong>INSERT OMAKE HERE<strong>

**OMAKE ENDS**

* * *

><p>They had finally ended their business in the Citadel, so it was high-time for the group to go back to the Normandy.<p>

They went back to the C-Sec precinct and into the Checkpoint. Shepard still hadn't been able to shake the effects of alcohol out of his system. "Man, remind me never to drink anything that's not blue again." He said with an odd bearing in his walk. They passed through the screening wall, when suddenly the alarms began to blaze on a deafening level.

"AH! Goddammit my head!" Shepard yelled before every single screening device in the checkpoint overloaded resulting in a massive discharge.

**BOOOOM**

Or explosion…. Blinded and in a fit of coughs, the team made his way out of the smoke into a more clear area. The Turian officer assigned to the location was right behind them, he too had suffered the effects of the sudden overload.

"(Cough) (Cough) by the spirits, Commander! You weren't kidding when you said that girl could make the systems go haywire. I should have listened when I had the chance. (Groan) This is going to come out of my paycheck, I just know it." He grouched, his mood going flat.

"What?" Shepard asked, his mind still reeling from the sudden discharge. He soon regained his focus and appraised his teammate's condition "Where's Alice?" he inquired to no one in particular, before he and the others began searching for the girl. It was for naught. A look of terrible realization dawned on Shepard when he became aware of the horrible truth.

The girl was gone. They had lost Alice… Again.

* * *

><p><em>Well this will certainly wraps up what I would call the first arc of this story. Now we're going to deal with Shepard venturing inside wonderland to find Alice and bring her back to the future on a permanent basis. I'm going to have to think real good on this one, anyway, you saw I left a space that marks an Omake, that's what I'm going to post in the next update. Didn't include in this one because it already has taken too much time and it would have taken more if I included it. At least with this you'll know where the Omake is taking place in relation to the rest of this story.<em>

_Also, for those who wonders about Alice new skills. I already said that things happen because she makes them happen. You tell her she can do things and she believes you, she will make those things happen. Remember she can alter reality so there is not much she could not do if she puts her mind into it. She did not directly affect the Turian Councilor with her powers, more like it she bended reality to make their surroundings do what she was trying to accomplish. I'm basing myself in the psykers of Warhammer 40k and other entities with reality altering abilities like Doctor Manhattan or the Endless to develop Alice abilities._


	18. Guaranteed to knock you on your ass

**Author's note: **Ok, here's the Omake that I promised. So terribly sorry for the delay; But I'll get you people on that later, for now here's the next update.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**OMAKE**

**GUARANTEED TO KNOCK YOU ON YOUR ASS**

The Galaxy; vast and unfathomable in its expanse. Its depths still unexplored and largely unknown by most of the Galactic Society. With a large part of its citizenry waddling through their whole life in ignorant bliss from the terrors that lurk in the darkness among the stars. Waiting patiently for the time when they will rise and consume all living things, leaving nothing but dead empty husks in their wake.

Only one man has the courage to stand against the evil unknown, only one man has the charm to unite all the free species of the galaxy under one banner and prepare them for the oncoming onslaught. Only one man has the skills and expertise to lead us into victory. His name is Commander Shepard, the most brave, the most gallant, the most powerful. Made of the stuff from what Legends are born from. No man can compare against him. No warrior can defeat him. He's the best hope the galaxy has to survive.

"Put more of the stuff in the… The thing more stuff goes in."

And he's an incorrigible drunk bastard…

"Somebody is a little tipsy!"

Seemed Alice found the situation to be quite funny.

True to his word, the commander went down to the wards for a much needed drink. On his way, he spotted the reporter Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani prowling around the stands close to the eternity bar. He made a bee-line, straight for the club before Al-Jilani had a chance to know he was there. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now.

Once inside, he didn't waste any time to approach the bar and asked the Turian bartender for their strongest drink, his teammates barely able to keep up with him. Much to Alice displeasure for being left behind, but her ire quickly evaporated when her attention was enraptured by all the lights and loud techno music inside the bar. She hadn't set a foot inside a place like this in her whole life, after all.

A situation like this was bound to go wrong; it was just matter of time. It became pretty obvious when Shepard turned suspicious of his drink and made a more than obvious comment regarding its color. "This is green"

Of course that didn't dissuade him from drinking it for long. 4 strong drinks and one shot of Batarian uncut ale later, while his audience was either very amused or not impressed at his antics at all, and out came the Ryncol; The strongest, toxic and the most illegal drink in the whole galaxy. The exotic container –that seemed to glow in an intense sky blue- that held the drink, could not remain ignored by Alice for long.

She felt compelled to ask.

"Excuse Mister Massani, but if you don't mind; Can you tell me what is Ryncol?" She said addressing the old veteran.

The gruff mercenary raised an eyebrow, peering at the girl. He bit the interior of his cheek, considering the best way to phrase his answer. "Before I answer that question, do you know that Grunt species are Krogan, right?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Yes, although I don't know much about them besides their name to tell the truth…"

"Right… Well then, if you pardon my language, allow me to explain. You see little lady, Krogan are one of the most mean and tough motherfuckers that exist out there in the galaxy. They can take punishment and suck pain like there is no tomorrow. Thanks to their redundant systems, they can survive and shrug off things that can be fatal to most species as if it was nothing."

"Redundant systems!" Asked Alice intrigued.

"Spare organs." Clarified the old veteran. "They have a second set of each major and minor organ; 2 hearts, 4 lungs, 4 kidneys, and so on. So if they somehow ended up damaging something vital because of an injury, like a liver or something, they can switch to the other and keep going as if nothing had happened."

"Wow!" was all that Alice could say after that revelation.

"Yeah" Zaeed confirmed in that coarse voice of his. "And because of that, these chumps also have a very strong tolerance to almost any kind of poison or toxin known to man, including alcohol. So if the sons of bitches want to get wasted, Ryncol is the only thing with the right punch to do it. It's a brew made by the Krogan themselves, designed specifically to get them drunk. So that should give you an idea of how strong that drink is. To Non-Krogans, that thing kicks you like a mule in the stomach and knocks you out in a zinch. It requires a special kind of idiot or a real tough bastard to drink the stuff."

Alice pondered that piece of information briefly. It sounded to her that Ryncol was something she shouldn't be trying any time soon, or ever. "And which kind you think the commander is?" inquired the petite girl.

Zaeed glanced at Shepard, only to find him wobbling uneasily in his seat while staring idiotically in drunken stupor at the exotic alien drink still lying untouched in front of him. Not one of the commander's brightest moments for what it seemed. "Right now; my money is in the first option." Deadpanned the old mercenary.

It was not long before their conversation was put into halt by the sound of a body hitting the floor. It seemed Shepard was not strong enough to hold such potent drink. The ridiculousness of the situation proved to be very amusing for Cheshire.

He chuckled in a very disturbing fashion. "I would have never suspected that being in the company of the commander could prove this entertaining. It really paid off to come visit, I haven't laughed like this in a long time at something that does not include the spilling of blood or the screams of the dying."

Completely ignoring that comment, Miranda promptly kneeled at the commander side and began to drag his unconscious form. "Somebody give me a hand; we need to move him to a place where we can treat him"

Zaeed bristled at that "Let's just dump him in the nearest washroom. He'll be able to sleep his drunkenness in there just fine. Once he wakes, he'll have all he needs to deal with the monstrous hangover that I'm sure this idiot will awake with."

So they did just that, but once they stood at the entrance of the men's room, Alice decided their actions to be rather inappropriate.

"I'm not setting foot inside that room! Is highly unseemly for a lady to step inside the place where men go to relieve themselves."

Not one in the mood to argue. Miranda simply grabbed and dragged her inside, obviously that caused a myriad of protests to escape from the young girl's mouth. All of which went unheeded.

They deposited Shepard in front of the sinks, where Miranda began to check-up on him. Alice was still not pleased to be forced to participate in such improper action and settled for pouting and sulking the close she could get to the entry. She was not going to debase herself further by committing such disgracefulness.

Their little show was interrupted by the sound of water running. It seemed they were not the only people inside the restroom. Following the sound of the noise, they found a Turian patron taking a leak. He zipped up and was mildly vexed for having a bunch of people huddled inside the room. He tossed them a glance that clearly said _Weirdoes _before leaving the restroom. Without washing his hands, what a pig! Alice thought.

Her train of thought was stopped by a grunt coming from the commander unconscious form. It would seem he was starting to wake up.

"Oh god, I feel as if someone has been hammering a sledgehammer inside of my skull." He took a glimpse at his surroundings "Ugh, what happened? How I get inside the bathroom?"

"Glad to see you back among the living Shepard." Miranda remarked "That was incredible irresponsible of you, how could you drank all those highly toxic drinks like that"

Shepard signaled her rather awkwardly to keep her voice down. "Please, Miranda. Could you save the tongue-lashing for later? Right now I feel like a drill's been shoved into my head." He pleaded.

"(Sigh) very well commander. I'll save the scolding for when we are back in the Normandy."

"Thanks Miranda, I owe you one. Now give me a hand, I want to get out of here as soon as possible"

And so the commander and his group set off back to the Normandy.

* * *

><p><em>So sorry for the delay. Is just I haven't find the time to write anything, especially since I've began to watch old series because a recent sprout of nostalgia. I'm talking about the old great animes like Ranma, Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Slayers, Thundercats, Robotech, Samurai X, Silver Hawks, Mazinger Z. They're pretty long, hundreds of episodes each. So I really don't feel in a writing mood after long marathons each day, not to mention my work and having to keep up in shape. But whatever…<em>

_Sorry for the long waiting. But don't be surprised if I delay in the update of future chapters. _

_Now I need to make sure you people have the same image I have about certain aspects in this story. In this case Cheshire's human form._

_So let's have it. It'll require a little mish-mash._

_First let's grab the body of a Thin Man from X-Com Enemy Unknown. Just change the hands from the ones I depicted in the fic. Now dress him up in the suit of Mister Burke from Fallout 3, all with fedora included, just change the color for the one I put in the last chapter._

_And for the face, we shall use the lower half of the head of the Mouth of Sauron from the extended edition of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. That is the only part you can see of his face that is mouth, chin and nose. According to the behind the scenes material, the mouth of Sauron has his mouth size increased to double that of a normal human mouth. That is why he looks the way he looks in the movie. For Cheshire we will change the size from 2x to 3x. You can increase it more if you feel like it, but I found that further sizes tend to deform the face too much for my liking._

_Anyway, Now just add the features I gave to Cheshire and voila! There you have it. I hope this help all of you in having a clear look of the specific vision I have for this story. Read you all in the next update. It'll come when it comes._


	19. One little step for me

**Author's note: **Well, is that time of the month again. –No I'm not speaking about that thing that women have to endure every 30 days and that shall remain unnamed- It's my monthly update of this story, at least that's what I'd like to think. What with the delays and that, I try at least to update this story once a month. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it takes less. But for the most part, I think by know people can predict when I'm going to update a new chapter or not. Be Omake or regular chapter, or whatever.

Anyway, still watching lots of Anime during this last month; Have finished watching Hajime No Ippo, and let me tell you that Anime is the balls. The fights are so fucking awesome, haven't seen fights that cool since DBZ. You should see it, I recommend it, is entertaining to watch. I watched both series Hajime No Ippo and New challenger.

Before that I was watching the original Dragon Ball up until the semi-finals of the first Budokai Tenkaichi, and before that all the Ovas and films of Ranma that I still hadn't watched because I didn't have them at the time. I had finished watching Ranma ½ main series like 2 months ago. Right now I'm watching Sailor Moon, even though is a more girl show for my tastes. I got a good laugh by pointing out the stupid things they do, which is understandable since the cast is composed by naive little girls. Things like, instead of attacking the Monster-of-the-week in the back while he's distracted doing his evil shit in order to end the threat quickly and cleanly, no you have to call their attention and introduce yourself before engaging them in a full front assault. (Sigh) Girls don't know how to use the element of surprise.

And also how much Tuxedo Mask is fucking useless in a fight, He just tosses his gay roses to either distract or disarm the youmas, says some stupid speech and then leaves. Motherfucker LEAVES! Fuck is wrong with him? There's a team of innocent and pretty young girls who don't have any kind of formal training to deal with any kind of emergency, fighting against monsters (who most of the time look and dress like skanks) that are trying to kill them. And this idiot instead of staying and helping them in taking down the threat, because that'll be the gentlemanly thing to do, just leaves. What an asshole. I can count with one hand the rare occasions this fool has stayed until the end.

Anyhow, right now I'm already in Sailor Moon S so I suspect it'll take me another 2 weeks to watch the full series. As you can see I'm having lots of fun. But whatever, you're not here to read how I spend my free-time. So let's get on with the show.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 16**

**ONE LITTLE STEP FOR ME, ONE HELL OF A RIDE FOR THE REST OF THE TEAM**

Alice awoke under much duress. The first thing that managed to pierce, almost immediately, through the fog that veiled her groggy mind was an extremely displeasing pungent aroma that overwhelmed her nostrils. Something expected when you have the brilliant idea of taking a nap inside of a sewer.

The smell was enough to make her vomit. Since she hadn't eaten anything the day before, there was nothing inside her stomach to send back. She just went through the vomiting spasms as a reflex, managing only to make a few trails of saliva leave her mouth.

She cleaned the drool off her with the back of her hand. A grumpy voice called to her in taunt.

"Not feeling too fresh are we? Well, that's to be expected I suppose. I doubt there's anything that can remain fresh for long down here. Maybe next time you'll have a little more consideration when choosing a place where to take your beauty sleep."

Alice whipped her head towards the voice. She wasn't much surprised to find her old stuffed rabbit standing and approaching her as fast as his tiny legs allowed him.

"Shut your gob, rabbit." Alice snarked back at the stuffed animal. "This isn't really the best time for your whining. If I had known you would be this preachy, I shouldn't have ever bothered to get you back from Radcliffe."

"Fine! Have it your way. See if I care the next time you get stuck on a pickle" Said rabbit crossing his arms, feeling affronted at the girl's attitude.

Said girl finally managed to collect her bearings back. "As if you and the others have been of any help at all in the past! As far I recall; I've always had to do all the leg work by myself while you and your friends stay pretty comfy behind doing nothing! The only occasional help, you lot, bother to give me has always came in the form of unnecessary cryptic comments that always strive to be the most useless they can be."

The girl buffed, in an uncharacteristic unladylike manner. "But no matter, I don't have time to worry about such trivialities. Come! There's still much to be done." She declared, taking hold of her stuffed rabbit before strotting off. "I've yet to find a way to solve all these problems that burden me. If only I could find a viable option that would allow me to leave and never return to this cesspool of a city. Maybe Nan can have a solution or at the very least, help me in satiating this ravenous hunger that assails me." She mumbled to herself while clutching her side, trying her best to endure the complaints of her stomach for not being feed since the day before yesterday. Despite the inconveniences, she made her way the best she could through the underground labyrinth that was London's sewers system.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, back in the Normandy.<em>

Shepard let out a deep sigh of weariness, in front of him, on the other side of the table on the conference room was Cheshire in his human form. The cat was sitting at his leisure on his seat, his arms behind his back and his feet on top of the table without a care for the world.

Just like the last time that Alice disappeared, the Commander tried to get some answers from Cheshire, not that the cat would know or tell anything of use. He already could tell by looking at the feline's toothy grin that this might well be a total waste of time, but any smidget of information that he could wrestle out of the mangy beast could, maybe, help him to unravel the mystery that was Alice. Right now the most important thing he needed to know was if he should risk, or not, an incursion into wonderland to find the girl.

"So I take it that Alice is back to her own time for the time being." Said Shepard, getting the show on the road.

The cat half-addressed him with a lazy nod. "You presume correct, commander. Alice is back where she belongs, at least for now. If you're wondering about her return, then don't. It'll be a wasted effort. She'll be back when the time is right. Victory favors those who are patient, so no use worrying about it."

"But I do worry, I worry because is my job to worry for her. When I accepted her into my crew, it was more than just an invitation for a trip. The moment she accepted my offer I became responsible for her well-being. All of the people inside the Normandy are my responsibility; I'm the one who was to answer for them, to lead them and protect them without betraying the trust they have deposited in me. And I don't think I'm doing a pretty good job if I don't know were Alice is. What if she's in trouble? How can I protect her if I'm not there?" Shepard spoke with anxiety in his voice.

Cheshire turned his head and stared at him from underneath his fedora, looking at the Commander intently as if measuring him.

"What does Alice mean exactly to you, Commander? Why are you so intent to have her close at all times? Where does all this worry for her safety comes from?" he asked with suspicion.

Shepard was a little caught off-hand by those questions. "I thought I had explained that already! I worry about her because is my responsibility as her commanding officer to keep vigil over her well-being. All the men and women inside this ship, and that include you and Alice, are my responsibility. It falls unto me to make sure that they will make it through this mission alive and in good health so they can go back to their families and loved ones"

Cheshire showed no indication to be dissuaded from his way of thinking, however. "As much as doable as it is your loyalty to your crew. It does little to answer my question. We are not military Shepard, neither I nor Alice, have the qualities that a good little soldier should have. On the contrary, Alice would make a terrible soldier since she is unable to follow instructions without question."

"That maybe so." Shepard replied, crossing his arms. "But is not like I have the most ordinary team under my command right now: We have Jack, who's a former inmate and criminal. Grunt, who's a genetically engineered Krogan super-soldier. Garrus, former cop turned vigilante and friend of mine. Zaeed, who's an old mercenary and bounty hunter with a penchant for violence and a more than questionable record on his career. Mordin who despite been a scientist is a former operative of the STG, an agency of the salarian government which main directives are espionage an assassination. And then there is Cerberus, an organization labeled by all known governments of the galaxy as terrorists and criminals, and just so happens that they are the ones funding this operation. Hell; I myself am a spectre, a member of a select group of elite operatives who only answer to the Council and have free reign to do whatever it takes to complete the missions given to them, no matter the cost or the loss of lives…. So yeah, we are not your usual run-off-the-mill soldiers either, so forgive me if I believe Alice would fit nicely on our roster since I see a great deal of potential in her." He said rather snippy.

The Human/cat brought a long, thin claw to his chin in thought and took a moment to muse at Shepard's statements. "…mmm… I see your point, commander. Still, I can't help but wonder. Do you only show concern for her because she proves useful to you? I dread to think what will become of her once her usefulness runs out." He implied with a sinister smile.

Shepard did not take that comment pretty well. He sent a smothering glare towards the feline. "What are you implying? That I would have leaved her hanged and dry if it wasn't for her powers? That I would discard her like a spent magazine if she somehow loses her abilities? I admit her powers make her a valuable asset, but I'm not of the mind of leaving defenseless civilians to fend for themselves without help. It goes against everything I fight for. If such thing as her losing her powers comes to pass, I would strive to find a safe place that she could call home and assist her in finding a new leaf in life before I move on. I will not leave a girl in need abandoned and on her own if I can help it. A girl, who by the way, you told me gets harassed back where she comes from. How can I be calm when I know she could be in a serious mess over there and I'm here powerless to bail her out?" Shepard said on his feet, hands pressed on the table and locking eyes with the emaciated man-beast.

The cat tilted his head at a side and shrugged with only one shoulder. He had to concede to Shepard the last point. "Well… She is in a bit of a pickle, I must confess. But a quick mind and a little wit will see her through. Something she has proved to be remarkably proficient in the past, despite her attitude. But I digress, even if your words are true, I see no way how you could be of any assistance to her. You two are separated by more than just distance after all." Cheshire said dismissing him.

But Shepard was not going to give up that easily. He too was quite stubborn when he had a goal. "I don't care! I will venture inside wonderland if I have too. If there is an opening to wonderland here in my time, then is probable that there is another one on her end. I will not back down! I will enter wonderland and search high and low non-stop until I find it."

Cheshire snapped his head right at him. His eyes took a glint of malevolent fascination "You would try to brave the dangers of wonderland to reach Alice? Are you that desperate for a girl you barely know? That is reckless. That is foolish. That is…. (He paused briefly to give that thought a second-over) The most delicious idea I've heard in a long time." His smile turned more deranged than usual.

"I am speechless at your determination, honestly. You truly are intent of sticking up to Alice no matter what, for what I see (chuckles) truly remarkable. Very well, you've convinced me of the honesty of your intentions. Still, are you sure you wish to continue with this enterprise? I must warn you. Wonderland can be quite the deadly place when it wants to be, if you were to stumble with one of their less friendly residents, there's a very low probability of you coming out there alive. It'll be such a shame if you were to die; you've been most amusing to be around so far." Cheshire said, sounding quite peppy.

However, Shepard was not dissuaded by his –way to cheery- attempts at intimidation "It will not be the first time I face the unknown with the odds stacked against me. Just tell me if you can get me and my team inside wonderland and I'll take care of the rest."

Cheshire was ecstatic by that answer. His smile stretched even more. "As you wish; Commander."

* * *

><p><em>Back in London, several hours later in the past's timeline.<em>

Alice approached quietly, back pressed on the wall, at the edge of a building that was located in the corner of the block she was currently traversing. From here on, turning left at the end of the street she knew there was an entrance into an alleyway, just a couple of houses down the road. Knowing full well she was a wanted woman, going back to the orphanage through the front door was out of the question. It was more than obvious to expect it to be guarded. So she settled for using the back door.

Her current stealthy approach was more of a precaution. She wouldn't want to be catched by surprise in case the police had decided to guard the rear entrance too. Her forethought proved to be the right choice when she peeked, from the corner of the block, a lone policeman leaning left to the alley entrance with his back turned at her. Bollocks! She thought.

No matter, this little obstacle will not dissuade her from reaching her goal. Spying from her position, she carefully observed the lone copper movements. It was easy to realize that he was bored out of his mind, focusing almost solely in founding the most comfortable position for his back on the wall, shifting his weight from the shoulder to his spine, yawning every now and then while occasionally looking over his shoulder. That is, towards her direction.

Wouldn't be long before the officer fell asleep on his feet, Alice suspected. Trust the blue bottles to be this diligent in their work if they suddenly found themselves alone and without supervision. Could work for her advantage though? If she were to be silent and fleet on her feet, only problem was that the street was way too much in the open. No place to hide, except the houses portcullis and those were too much narrow to hide her from view. She'll have to risk it, nevertheless. There was no other option.

Walking on her foot-tips, she approached the most fast and quiet as she could towards the entrance of the alleyway. She slowed her pace as she neared the policeman, still oblivious of her presence. She was forced to hold her breath once she found herself standing, practically, behind him. Being this close to the razor's edge was wrecking at her nerves.

She was preparing to enter into the alleyway by slowly leaning to the left, when the cop turned to look behind him. Immediately, sprung into action by an adrenaline fueled reflex, she spun on her left toe in an 180 degree arc and quickly hugged her back, the most she could, to the wall parallel to the policeman. Effectively; positioning her in his blind spot.

After what she believed to be the longest and most anxious seconds of her live, the cop huffed seeing there was nothing and went back to his nap. Still, Alice dared not to breathe seeing how close she was to the policeman. She had to settle for waiting for her heart to stop hammering inside her chest. Once her nerves simmered down, she wasted no time in entering the alleyway, glancing back at the officer to make sure he was still none the wiser.

In her hurry, she didn't saw the trash bin in front of her and bumped with the damn thing with a loud clang. Cold realization seeped into her mind, making her horribly aware of the monumental screw up she had just made.

Just as before, her body moved on autopilot, reacting fast like lightning because of the adrenalin. She quickly found herself, in a single move, behind the trash bin and used it to hide herself from view. It was fortunate for her to be such a petite and lithe woman, she could easily conceal her profile behind the dumpster if she squat enough.

"What is that noise? Who goes there?" asked the now pretty much awake police officer, pulling out his blackjack and venturing inside the alleyway in search of the culprit responsible for the noise.

Sweat started to trickle down Alice brow as she began to exude in cold perspiration. The cop was getting near with each passing second. Her little impromptu concealment would not abide her if he were to get too close.

"Come out whoever you are!" yelled the policeman, encroaching even more upon Alice hiding spot.

Luckily for her, she was saved by divine intervention.

"**Meeeeaoooooowwwwwrrr!**"

A furry blur bolted from inside the half-closed trash-bin, touching ground with 4 pawed legs before shooting deeper into the alleyway.

The policeman desisted in his perusal.

"Tsk, just a bloody cat." He muttered and went back to his spot to sleep his boredom off.

This time, Alice did release the breath she was holding. That was twice in a row that she avoided being caught just by the skin of her teeth. She leaved her hiding place and ventured inside alley, quickly disappearing in the shadows, this time she paid closer attention to where she was stepping. She didn't want to test her luck for a third time after all.

She finally arrived at the back door of the Houndsditch house. There she found little John taking out the trash, she didn't bother with keeping the noise of her footsteps down.

"Who goes out there!" said the burly man turning in Alice's direction, only to become aghast with surprise at seeing her.

"Hello little John; Sorry for being this late on my return. I was a bit delayed on my trek back." She stated as if speaking about the weather.

"Missus Alice, what you doing back here?" Little John asked while taking nervous glances at their surroundings in search of unwanted witnesses. "Quickly! let's take yer' inside to see the Madam. She's been worried sick since we heard the news of yer' little brush with justice." Said the burly man ushering the girl inside the building.

"Wait in here while I go in search of the madam" Said little John once they entered the living room, leaving Alice momentarily alone.

Inwardly she was glad to have a moment for herself to catch her breath. Sneaking around through the entire city for 2 days straight can take quite the toll on one's person; both physically and mentally.

Idly, she wondered if she should take a seat in one of the armchairs in the living room to rest her tired and sore legs, but decided against it. Her neatness –or lack thereof- was way too far from immaculate and it would be a great lack of conscience to soil the furniture that Nan works so hard to keep clean.

Speaking of Nan, there she was coming down the stairs.

"Alice, my girl! Where have you been?" said Nan, approaching the girl in frenzy and taking her by the shoulders "I've been overwhelmed with worry for your sake ever since I got the news. You killed Pris and assaulted Radcliffe -Though I can't fault you much in the last one-" she said under her breath "But still Alice my dear, tell me. What happened?"

"Forgive me Nan. I was careless and rash." Alice replied, lowering her gaze in shame, feeling unworthy too look her old Nan in the eyes "I went to confront Pris to put an end to her blackmail, only to find that she had already planned ahead of me. She tried to convince an officer to send me back into the Asylum behind my back. I wasn't going to let her, so I gave her a piece of my mind, goading her with wit and barb. She didn't take it kindly and tossed any kind of decorum aside and attacked me, right there in front of the officer. I fought back of course… It wasn't my intention to push her off the roof. She was constricting her fingers around my throat and I couldn't breathe. I just wanted to get her off me."

"Yes I know Alice." Nan said in a soothing voice. "The police have already filed the death of Pris as an act of self-defense since an officer bore witness to it. But it doesn't look good for you to have run away. What were you thinking?" She asked with heavy concern.

"I was scared Nan. I knew they were going to send me back to the Asylum. Nevermind if it was self-defense or not. This is a serious breach of my acclimatization time. They're going to brand me as too dangerous to be around others and ship me back to Rutledge. I will not go back. Death is preferable than returning to that horrid place."

Nan let out a tired sighed in agreement. "I know Alice. Still, it doesn't make things any better. Now, what made you decide to pay a little visit to that fat useless lawyer? I heard you leaved him with quite the bloody parting gift to remember you by." she asked with a hint of amusement, referring to Radcliffe.

"My time in this city is at an end, Nan." Alice replied pretty serious in a rare show of lucidness. It was a sign of the gravity of the situation. "I knew that the moment I saw Pris broken body on the cobblestone. I felt that I should deal with any remaining loose knot before my departure. Hence, why I decided to go for a little payback against Radcliffe for all the troubles he has given us before. I wasn't going to let him keep and squander what remains of my family trust-fund without a fight."

Nan had to agree with that. Radcliffe was such a vile leech that deserved no pity for his greed. "Well I'm glad he finally got what was coming to him. Anyway, let us see if I can think of something to help you get out of this mess. But first, do go up and take a bath. No offence my dear, but you smell pretty rotten. I don't even want to know what kind of places you got yourself into in the last few days. So go on, clean yourself, get all nice and tidy while Nan fixes you something to eat. I bet you haven't eaten anything proper because of all that running around from the police."

Alice nodded in acceptance with a smile. "Yes Nan, I'll go take care of it right away."

* * *

><p><em>Normandy SR-2<em>

Shepard was finishing at giving one last once-over to his equipment before setting off. He had decided to include every single available member of his ground team for this operation. Not that he could stop them from coming even if he forbids them too.

Most of them –minus Jack and Grunt who saw this just as an opportunity to cause unbridled violence- are way too excited at the thought of visiting the real wonderland. Even Kasumi wiggled herself in on this mission after she caught wind of where they were going and making sure everybody wasn't trying to pull her leg. How she got her hands on some of the security footage that recorded Alice's abilities was a mystery to him, and one he suspected he would never find an answer for.

Heck, even Kelly tried to get herself on the team. Of course he shoot down that idea immediately, this wasn't going to be a little trek in the woods after all. He had to stand firm and let her now that wonderland may not be the same as in the books, just a glance at Cheshire is enough to confirm it, and that there could be terrible dangers standing in their way. Not to mention that if they manage to succeed in their mission and find an opening into London of the XIX century they'll have to be extremely cautious and discreet in order to avoid getting spotted by the people of that age and not mess up with the history timeline. That is the last thing he wants, who knows what kind of changes would be brought to their own age if they fool around with the past.

Anyway, all of his teammates were currently with him on the hangar making some last minute preparations for this trip. It was then that Cheshire made act of presence with his little appearing-out-of-nowhere trick.

"Well Shepard, I must admit, you're certainly not of the mind of leaving anything to chance." He said while glancing at every single member of the team who were arming themselves to the teeth.

Kasumi was really impressed at seeing the talking cat, who was back in his original form. "I still can't believe what I'm seeing is real. I had hoped that maybe that footage was fake. This is really happening isn't it? I have the real Cheshire cat standing in front of me and we are really about to go inside Wonderland. Wow, Shepard. I never thought I would be dragged into such an exotic trip when I joined your crew. I have to remember to take pictures once we're there."

"No pictures!" replied Shepard absentmindedly, still checking up his equipment. "This isn't a leisure trip for us to enjoy. We're going into an unknown and possibly hostile environment so I want everybody to be on their toes in case something comes up."

"Party-popper." Said Kasumi with a pout for having her bubble popped.

Shepard rose while attaching his weapons on his back and addressed the team. "OK team, let's get this show on the road. I know many of you are excited at the notion of visiting a place that only existed in fiction up until now; I myself never thought I would be doing something like this someday. But I want all of you to keep a level-head regardless of that fact. I don't want for us to be caught off-guard in case of an eventuality, so keep your mind focused and your eyes peeled." He ordered getting nods from his team.

"Okay Cheshire. Open the gateway into Wonderland." Shepard commanded to the talking cat.

"But of course. The key if you please?" said Cheshire extending a paw in a haughty manner.

Shepard wasted no time and handed him Alice's key. Just like last time the cat used the key to open the entrance into wonderland. This time the portal was so big that it covered half of the hangar. Making it look as if the hangar of the ship had been split in twine. One half showed were Shepard and his companions where; the other showing a colorful scenery of a forest with weird vegetation and giant mushrooms. Wonderland for sure.

Of course the entire team was gob-smacked by the display, seeing as how such impossibility was occurring right in front of the eyes. Even Mordin didn't go into an overly complex scientific ramble. The impression was that strong.

"Shoot me now, because I'm dreaming and don't want to wake up." Kasumi said through her perplexed stupor.

"Damn Shepard, this probably is the weirdest mission you've dragged me into since I've known you." Muttered Garrus, he too astonished by the display. He wasn't the only one that had something to say.

"I still can't believe the book is real, I used too read it all the time when I was a kid. I can't find words to express how marvelous this discovery is."

"Oh god! I really don't want to go into that fucking place again. If it wasn't because Shepard kept his end of the bargain…"

"I don't known, but all this color gives me a bad feeling for some reason"

"Blegh, too girly for my tastes. This mission is going to be a pain in the ass, I just know it."

"Never have examined biological samples from another dimension, looking forward to it!"

"This place… it puts my senses on edge. There's danger lurking around. I can barely wait for the battle to commence."

Shepard, as much as impressed as the others, had to shrug his amazement aside and recompose himself. He had to put his companions back in line so he went into Commander-mode. "Alright team, that's enough ogling. We have a mission and I don't know how much time we have to accomplish it. So get moving!"

Snapping from their day-dreaming, the team did as instructed. They approached –somewhat hesitantly- towards the anomaly with Shepard on the lead, the feeling of crossing through this dimensional gateway was a little weird. It felt as if they had went through a fine sheen that stuck on them for a few seconds until they crossed to the other side, wasn't particularly displeasing, but still quite odd.

Once everyone was on the other side, Cheshire spoke to the group. "I'll close the door behind you, if you don't mind." He said before the portal shrink down into non-existence; leaving them effectively inside Wonderland with no way out. "Wouldn't want any unexpected visitors to creep inside the ship while you're gone, would we? Just call for my name if you have any questions."

Shepard acknowledged with a nod and took the key back from the furry beast. "Any idea where we might begin with our search?" he asked.

"Go and search for Caterpillar, he will have the answers you seek. Just go through the forest until you find the exit, shouldn't be that hard even with such a large party dragging you down. Once you reach the mountains, look for the miniature groove with the pond in the middle."

"Do you have any last piece of advice?" Shepard asked to the mangy beast as last request.

The cat smile suddenly acquired a smug look "Just the one. The shrewd one considers his steps." He said before disappearing. His smile, as usual, being the last thing to fade away, leaving Shepard and the others on their own.

The team's response at that particular advice was to simply stare stunned-stupid with an incredulous look at the spot where the cat had vanished. Their expressions clearly saying WTF!

Kasumi was the first to break the silence.

"That was so not helpful at all." She dead-panned. "He practically just told us to be careful and that's it!"

"Indeed." Miranda replied. "Now I understand why Alice always addresses that cat with so much disdain."

Shepard had to suppress an urge to groan. "Nevermind that. Let's just start moving. I have a feeling this will be a long trip. I'll take point. Grunt, Zaeed, you're with me. Miranda, Jack, Kasumi and Mordin, you guys take center. And Garrus and Jacob; you 2 take the rear and watch our backs. Be prepared to give us snipping support in case of engagement. " He said causing the ground team to start their journey that would lead them deep into the darkest corners of wonderland.

* * *

><p><em>Well there you have it. Next time we'll see how Shepard and co. handle their stay in wonderland. It'll be fine for the most part. That is until they meet the queen.<em>

_And Alice will try to leave London. Keyword being try, because I don't have the intention for her to leave just yet. Not before I address some matters. _

_Anyway I hope to deal with this business quickly, because I'm getting so damn tired of changing between 2 timelines. It is quite taxing. Can't wait to reach the point in which I finally dump her and leave her on the Normandy on a permanent basis. But I have to get there first. In the meantime, consider this as the beginning of Alice recruitment mission or something among those lines._

_I'll keep doing my stuff and watching my series for the time being. Make sure to leave a review and I'll read you next time._


	20. Words of buggy wisdom

**Author's note: **Since I've been pressured for the next chapter, here you have a short one (Since I hadn't finished yet) to let you know this story is still alive. I know is been awhile, I've been distracted because we already are on the strong season for videogame releases. Got hooked by Diablo 3, GTA V and most recently Arkham Origins, and I still been watching lots of animes. So I really haven't been feeling in a writing mood as of late. Only in the last 2 weeks have I retaken it.

Which is what it took me to write this, but anyway… Onward with the show.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 17**

**WORDS OF BUGGY WISDOM**

Alice was fastening a scarf around her neck that had been given to her by Nan before her departure.

Like instructed, Alice had taken the time to wash herself from the grime of the last two days. And then proceed to dress in a clean set of clothes, afterwards. The next few hours were spent in dealing with her slight famish by consuming the delectable dishes that were carefully prepared by the always fondly Nan Sharpe. Alice felt as if graced by the gods for being given the opportunity of taking a nice bath and eat a warm, hearty meal.

She really had wanted to be on her way after her refueling time was over, no need to be a burden and cause Nan troubles because of her presence now that she had the law on her heels. But Nan was against that idea, at least concerning what remained of the day. She convinced Alice to spend the night at least for today. She knew she could not convince the young girl from running away, she too was sure of what her future would be if she remained inside the city for too long. But at least in this way she would be fully rested and have a clear head to face whatever challenge may come her way, not to mention, she would be able to give her goodbyes to the children who have come to rely on her the past few months. Any traveling arrangement could wait for tomorrow.

Once the sun began to rise over London, Nan set forth on the task on getting everything ready for Alice's departure. While she was doing that, Alice took the opportunity to say goodbye to each one of the children personally. It was a heart-wrenching endeavor, but it was something that needed to be done.

It took her almost the entire morning to give her farewells to the veritable army of younglings that dwell in the orphanage, but one it was done, she couldn't help but feel somewhat better on the inside for having been able to give her last words before leaving her old life behind her. Wasn't the first time she had her world doing a 360·, the dead of her family proved that much, but at least this time she could carry it out on her own terms.

She then proceeded on dressing in an appropriate attire meant for a long journey. Going back to her room, she found the place already stripped bare of her belongings, only an opened briefcase containing most of her garments had been left behind; lying atop her bed. She rummaged between the neatly folded set of clothes for something that could be of any use.

After browsing for a few minutes, she found just the thing she was looking for. On top of her usual outfit she donned a heavy-duty coat meant to protect her from the harsh weather, a set of gloves for her hands and a new blue cloth shawl instead of the old raggedy one she had found to keep with the concealment of her features. The documents of her inheritance she decided to neatly fold them and then hide them inside her breast, it would require a very boor and crass person to decide to look for valuables in that particular part of her anatomy.

She then proceeded on closing the briefcase shut and began to haul it downstairs. Once she reached the living room, she found Nan Sharpe waiting for her in there. She approached Alice wordlessly and began to scrutinize the girl's attire with a critical eye.

"Not bad Alice, you look quite ravaging. But I think your dress is in need of a final touch." Nan said while musing. "Here! This should do nicely." The old governess brought her hands to her neck and took off the scarf she was wearing and proceed to dress Alice with the garment.

"There, that should keep you warm during cold nights" she said kindly patting Alice in the shoulder.

"Thanks Nan, I'll make sure to put it to good use" Alice answered back with a smile, but then her mood turned demure "I'll guess, this is goodbye then. I'm sorry things turned out this way, Nan… I… I'll miss you" She said in a burst of emotion before grabbing Nan Sharpe in a hug.

"I'll miss you too deary, you'll always be the most brilliant of my children. The one I'll remember most fondly." She slowly broke the hug, but kept maintaining visual contact with Alice "Take care Alice, I hope whatever life you may find away from this place turns to be more favorable than what it has been so far. Goodbye now and godspeed."

After saying their goodbyes, Nan Sharpe gave Alice the rest of her belongings; her book written by Sir Dodgson that narrated her first two trips into wonderland –The only of its kind, since this was a special edition made specifically for her- her stuffed rabbit, raggedy as it was, and the big portrait that she had of her family that was also the only picture she had of them. It had been carefully taken out of his frame and then rolled like a scroll for her to carry around easily. Nan then sent word to little John and told him to escort Alice quietly and safely out of the house. He ushered her through the backdoor -Alice took the opportunity to grab a clean knife from the kitchen while passing through- and lead her through the alleys until reaching a discreet exit, one that led into a more out-of-the-way street far from the patrols that were prowling the streets of London in search of Alice.

The burly man addressed the girl for the last time. "This be as far as I can take you lassie, from here yer' on yer' own. Try to keep away from the coppers, if you see any." He set down Alice belongings in front of her.

"Goodbye John, take care of Nan and the children in my place. She may disagree, but I know Nan needs someone to watch over her from time to time" Alice said, smiling while trying to maintain a strong front.

Of course, it did not fool little John "Aye, I'll do that. Ye' take care of ye'self too from now on Alice. It's a harsh world out there. It'll beat ye' down and keep ye' at the bottom if ye' let him. Don't be afraid to hit back if ye' need too."

Alice answered with a nod "I'll try to keep it in mind. Farewell now, John"

"Fare thee well, Alice and good luck." Said little John before going back into the alleys.

Alice was sad to see him go, his departure marked the end of another life she had strived to make the best she could of; but she didn't looked back once she grabbed her things and turned around. She fastened the scarf around her neck and made her way into the night.

* * *

><p>Commander Shepard carefully trudged trough some high grass, the rest of the team following closely. So far their little incursion into wonderland has been running pretty smoothly without a hitch, except for some minor incidents. Nothing they couldn't handle, just the occasional scrap with the local fauna… and flora.<p>

It was clear that wonderland was to be taken with a little more seriousness than what the books depicted. That fact became glaringly obvious when Kasumi tried to touch a particular beautiful violet rose, only for said rose to react badly and attempt to fight the thief off by spewing her thorns at her. After that little incident, Shepard was treated to what he would later consider to be a rare sight of Kasumi keeping her hands to herself for the rest of the trip.

Although many of the creatures inside wonderland were a particularly curious sight; some of them were also quite hostile. Fireflies with a thick Iron bolt as body that attacked in swarms, piranhas with the legs of a man that swim in the ground and tried to eat their preys from below; green, ugly, deformed midgets with big-ass noses that wore giant pieces of china as weapons and armor. Quite the bizarre sight, alright. Hell, he even suspected that the tiny lady bugs of this place were aiming for them too, what with them dropping tiny pebbles on top of his, and the rest of the team, heads. A negligible annoyance, but it ran its course pretty fast. Now the team was more concerned in squashing the little buggers rather than keeping an eye for other more health-detrimental threats. Not that the creatures of this place could do much against him and his team before getting in range for a lethal attack, but whatever.

Despite this encounters, and the occasional engagement, the team was making good time on their trek. They managed to leave the woods after a few hours of travel and found passage in a rocky valley that clearly led into the mountains. This part was a little tricky since in some sections their road was nothing more but a few randomly placed floating rocks, by the time they managed to clear this sections, the biotics of the team were left utterly spent after having to move each single one of the other teammates individually to safety.

This delayed them somewhat for they had to wait for the biotics to catch their breaths again, didn't set well with Grunt who was growing restless from the idea of remaining idle on one spot for too long and without something to kill. Luckily they just had to wait for a few minutes for the Biotics to be travel-worthy once more, but they shouldn't count for any major display of raw biotic power to be available in the foreseeable future. This mildly worried Shepard, because he couldn't be sure they wouldn't stumble into something that would require the heavy artillery to be dealt with.

His concerns were unfounded as they managed to traverse the rocky road without any major engagement and finally reach the mountains. Now to find the groove Cheshire was speaking about.

Shepard mildly wondered how a groove is supposed to exist in such a dry place like this without any near source of water at hand. He knows that rivers are born in the mountains, but since they hadn't seen any body of water since they left the woods, the confusion was understandable. Well seeing as how there are whole sections of the mountain range and nearby woodland floating placidly up in the sky, he supposed he should not question the issue in the first place, so he was willing to let the notion slide for now.

He was utterly surprised though, when the team finally discovered the so called groove, only to find out that it was nothing but a miniature model of a mountain temple with an oriental design. Damn that cat for not being specific.

Obviously the team did not take the discovery well, if their gob-smacked expressions were any indication.

"You got to be fucking kidding me!" said Jack with a mood that was at the same time both numb and angry. "What the fuck is this shit?" Now her mood sky-rocketed to outright pissed.

Miranda suppressed a strong urge to sigh. "For what it looks like, it seems this is the groove we are looking for."

"You know guys; this trip isn't as great as I first thought" Kasumi said, downtrodden like the rest of the team. "I mean, the sights a great, I won't deny it. But trying to get anywhere is a pain. Not to mention that almost everything in this place literally tries to take a bite out off you."

Mordin piped in to give his opinion "Yes, local wildlife highly aggressive and territorial. Fascinating that some of the flora shares this same trait, must be the result of adaptation for growing in such hostile environment. Nothing more primal than the old nature struggle between life and death among all species, quite exhilarating. Would have to run tests to prove theory, though. Need to take samples. Forgot for been studying local environment. Floating landscape, probably one of the most impressive discoveries witnessed in whole life."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Only you Doc would consider fun to be attacked by weird creatures. Is this the place where Caterpillar can be found, anyway? I don't see a smoking pipe anywhere." She said peering at their surroundings.

"Most certainly it is." Said a voice coming from above the head's of the ground team. Everyone looked up to see the bloat insect with wings in question, flying above them carrying and smoking a hookah. "Though I sometimes tend to leave my hookahs lying around; it is only for those who could find enlightenment if they are willing to employ them." He said releasing a puff of smoke. "But you're not here for idle chatter, I'll wager. You came looking for guidance to point you into the right direction. Ask your questions and I shall deem them an appropriate response."

Commander Shepard wasn't surprised in the least for seeing the talking caterpillar; this trip has been filled with odd sights since the beginning. "Where you expecting us?"

"Indeed." Replied Caterpillar "Although wonderland has been subjected to an increased number of visitors as of late, it's not often when suddenly some of them come in here during their waking hours. Most of the visits to wonderland can be considered an meta-physical experience after all. Besides, Cheshire sent word of your arrival." The bug explained dismissively while still smoking from his pipe.

Kasumi had the need to make a remark. "Well it's good to know that we're not going to waste time doing an entire `Who are you?´ scene." She said with hand motions to make her point across.

Caterpillar was not impressed. "You and your friends, while very picturesque, are not relevant enough to warrant an inquiry about your identities. Only Shepard seems to have the determination to carry this task through."

Kasumi was beginning to feel insulted. "Wait a minute. Are you telling us that we are not important enough for you to learn our names? Who do you think you are to blow us off like that?" *****

"It is my duty to give all important information necessary to aid Alice and keep wonderland from spiraling out of control. I have to make do with what I can get my hands on. Use what is useful; get rid of what is not."

Now the entire team was starting to get a little heated-up by Caterpillar comments. Shepard was so not in the mood for this. "Knock it of people! We can't waste time with petty quarrels. You…" he said pointing at the flying bug "Tell me! What is going on? Is Alice in danger? And what can I do to help her?" he demanded, raising 3 fingers in line to mark each one of his questions.

Caterpillar acquiesced "Very well… Since I know you're not so fond of riddles, I'll speak as clearly as I'm able. Alice is indeed in a tight spot right now. Most people have never taken Alice's gifts quite well, it has been cause for her to be ostracized and despised by those who are ruled by ignorance. Her time in the Asylum was not a pleasant stay to say the least, since she was subjected to the most horrible of tortures and abuse from those that were supposed to nurse her back to health. The pain she suffered in that place almost became the final push that would have plunged her into insanity ending with the destruction of wonderland and the lost of her mind. (sigh) Better that I not dwell in those memories, suffice to say, that despite the terrible things that threatened to consume her, she managed to overcome and rise above them. And yet it was not enough to change her image in the eyes of the common people. But despite all this shortcomings she persevered and managed to forge a life of her own making. It was hard, yes, but it was a good life worth to be lived at its fullest. But now things have made a turn for the worst again. She killed someone… a pathetic excuse of a hag whose death makes the world a better place. The irony of the matter is that Alice didn't want to kill her in the first place; she was just trying to guard herself from the vicious and merciless attack that the old wretch was inflicting upon her. Now she's a fugitive, if she were to be caught she would be most certainly sent back into the Asylum, never to be released again, regardless if she's innocent of crime or not. She would be lost forever inside those nightmarish halls filled with the screams of the insane, hopeless to do anything, but wait to be consumed by the darkness. And that will be the end of her… and of us. For the death of Alice means the death of Wonderland as much as it is the other way around." The bug ended his speech in a pretty grim and somber mood.

The team was also in a similar state, this new information proved to be quiet of a downer. Shepard spoke again. "So, I was right. Very well, there's no time to waste. Tell us what needs to be done to help her." He said without hesitation.

Caterpillar stared, appraisingly, at him for a few seconds. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was impressed by the commander's conviction. "You're going to need to collect her and whisk her away. It's pretty clear that her time at home has come to an end and she needs a place where to have a fresh start. It is my sincere hope that she may be able to find such a thing in your own realm, away from the disgrace and pain that has been around her during her whole stay in London. Maybe a change of scenery will do her good. To do that, you'll have to traverse wonderland and find the gateway that connects to her time and place. It lays just beyond the lands of the Queen of Hearts, now little more than ruins, but still holding its fair share of dangers. It will not be an easy trip; the red queen despises uninvited guests and is quite lethal in her dispensing of punishment when dealing with any perceived transgression. You're going to have to tread real carefully on her domain; at least you're sufficiently armed to handle any nasty surprise you may find. But still, I advise to carry this enterprise with the utmost of care."

"Right!" Shepard replied with a nod "Any advice on how to reach the Queen's lands."

Caterpillar took another drag from his hookah. "If you find yourself pressed for time, you can always ride the train. The Looking Glass line goes through each of the major points of interest in wonderland and has stations in every single one of them. There's one of such stations just beyond the next turn in the road. You can use it to reach Queensland promptly; it should leave you right at its outskirts."

Many on the ground team did not take this new info rather well. Jack, clearly trying to restrain herself from doing something violent, one of her eyes twitching uncontrollably. "There's a fucking train to move around in here!... **THEN WHY THE FUCK NO ONE TOLD US ABOUT IT BEFORE?** That cat is so dead, next time I see him!"

Shepard tried his best to ignore that comment and the mumbling of agreements that followed it. "Thanks for the information. I'll make sure to reach Alice and save her from any trouble." He turned back to address the others. "Alright team, time to move on. We have a rescue to carry on." He said before moving on, the rest of the team following soon enough.

* * *

><p><em>Well here you have this snippet. A bit on the short side, but whatever. Got to fall back in writing small chapters because I don't have the time or the desire to write much as of late. But i'm trying to get my head back in the game. Next chapter, what many been waiting for... Queensland and the debut of the Queen of Hearts.<em>

_Also, as I've been watching lots and lots and lots of animes as of late, I've been starting to have ideas. I probably will start to release new stories pretty soon. Most of them will be composed of short chapters or be stand-alone stories, since I don't want to delay the update of new chapters for this story. But I really need to put these ideas into paper (or office archive, whatever) because otherwise I will not be able to get them out of my head and they will do nothing but distract me if they remain inside. So keep an eye in my profile for future works._

_Right now, I been strongly wondering what would happen if a write a story like Madhat886's the watchman, but with me changing Rorschach for one of Athena's Saints from Saint Seiya... And without all that pesky business of including too many cameos or elements form different series in a single story like crazy, only a single saint in a Justice League Universe. I do too been dabbling in writing a story where I put all the works of fiction I can, but I probably would have to ask permission from Madhat before doing so, since I want to use the premise of Pan getting stranded on a more recurrent anime earth because I liked that idea very much. But of course mine is going to be different since I only want to use the premise while developing the story in an entire different direction as far away from madhat's own work. Maybe using his ideas from time to time but that's it. I don't intend to commit plagiarism, I have too much imagination for that. Is just that I read his works and I get ideas._

_Anyway, just keep an eye on my profile for future works and don't forget to review._

_*****I don't even care if this is caterpillar personality or not, of all the characters in the Alice's games, this one I hate. Is always a pain to reach the idiot, they always tell you how important it is to meet him, but doing it is a chore and when you do it; you don't receive anything helpful or useful. So yeah, for being fucking useless and a pain in the ass, I hate his guts._


	21. All Aboard

**Author's note: **Well here's the latest chapter that I've been working on during this last month. I was originally thinking on making it a short one, but I've been working on other stories and this chapter began to gain length and I kept writing stuff. Well… I just have to say this is a normal length chapter instead of a short one. So I hope you enjoy it.

Anyway, let's begin.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 18**

**ALL ABOARD**

Shepard and Co. followed the directions given to them by Caterpillar. Just as he had said, there was a train station on the spot he had indicated. They witnessed that the small stop was in need of a little maintenance, but still serviceable. The team took a moment to wonder as to why they hadn't noticed the railroad lines before, seeing how they ran through the mountain with sections floating in the sky like the rest of the scenery. They chalked up as another oddity of this place.

With no immediate pressing concern at the moment, they decided to wait for the train arrival. Soon enough, they heard the sounds of a locomotive in the distance.

"It looks like our ride is here." Shepard announced.

Believing that they would be greeted by an old XIX century locomotive, none of the members of the ground team was ready for the sight before them.

"Oh… my… gosh!"

Instead of the plain motorized internal-combustion set of wheels that should been pulling a long line of wagons over a rail, the ground team was greeted by what could be considered a massive Gothic cathedral or castle on wheels… They really weren't expecting that.

The great marvel of Architecture and Engineering was composed of black stone walls and black, jagged steel. Each section of -what could be considered- wagons was a castle unto itself; so massive in size that each one rivaled the dimensions of many European fortresses. There were even windows decorating the walls of the fortresses filled with exotic glass panels in which one could see a fire burning from within that caused a hellish glow to emanate from the structure. Black, thick pillars of smoke rose from the locomotive obscuring the sky and leaving a trace of darkness behind the train's wake. It was pretty awe inspiring… and rather ominous to look at.

"This certainly wasn't in the books." Kasumi murmured awe-struck like the others.

Their little jaw-slacked gaping session was interrupted by a voice coming from the locomotive. "Hello there, friends! I take it you're in need of a ride. Hop inside the Looking Glass Express, is the fastest method of travel through out wonderland. We have stops on every single one of the most important spots known off."

Shepard searched for the owner of the voice and was mildly surprised to see a blue-skinned turtle with a giant bovine head wearing a ferry-man cap in the place of the driver for the Cathedral-train.

Miranda approached the weird creature, shaking her daze away. "You're the Mock Turtle aren't you?"

The creature nodded in confirmation. "Aye that's me! Former driver of the previous Looking Glass Express, then former captain of the H.M.S GRIFFON –May it rest peacefully at the bottom of the ocean- and now driver once again of the Looking Glass Express since it's reopening, at your service. You wish to go somewhere I wager?"

"Yes…yes, that's right." Said the spectre trying to avoid stumbling on his words. "Caterpillar told us that we could reach the land of the Queen of hearts if we took this train."

The Mock Turtle suddenly began to shiver at that statement and his demeanor turning pretty skittish. "You want to reach Queensland! Terrible idea! The Queen of Hearts is not someone you want to tangle with, she has a nasty temper and is even nastier in her treatment of others. I'd stay clear from that place if I were you friend, unless of course you're willing to part ways with your head."

Shepard was not dissuaded despite the warnings. He was determined to accomplish his mission. "Sorry but I have no other option. I need to go through Queensland if I wish to reach Alice before anything happens to her. I heard she's in trouble back in London."

Mock Turtle began singing a different tune after hearing that statement. "You want to help Alice? Why didn't you said so? We all have been pretty worried for her sake since that nasty business with the old witless went down. It's good to know there are decent people out there willing to lend her a hand in her times of trouble. You and your friends are pretty brave for daring to enter Queensland in order to help her. I myself cannot stand getting near that place without wetting my shell. Very well then, you and your friends should get on board, there's no time to waste. I'll take you all to Queensland, free of charge!"

"Fine by me." Replied Shepard, he turned towards the others. "Alright team, let's get inside."

The ground team entered inside one of the massive fortress wagons and found to their surprise that the interior was quite normal. There wasn't any difference between the interior of this train and that from the old model trains that were found on earth, only that everything here was quite elegant like if they were on first class.

Kasumi really dig the set-up. "Nice! Now this is the way to travel. It is missing a bar but maybe I can convince Alice to put one once we find her."

The train began moving soon enough, with nothing better to do at the moment the teammates went to find their own seats and enjoy the sights, or at least that was the plan if Jack hadn't started to freak out.

"OH FUCK! Not you again!"

Shepard went to see what was that had the tattooed woman all worked up. He found her pointing a finger at an individual that was idly gazing through the window on his seat.

Now this man was an odd sight. He was tall and gaunt and his skin was so pale it was almost snow-like. His hair in contrast was pitch-black, long and disheveled. His eyes were like a pool of darkness and instead of irises or retinas; he had shining stars that shone bright as the sun. He was dressed in a long cloak that was black as night and seemed to be covered in starlight, like watching a starry night in a clear sky. Ok he was remarkable enough, but that was hardly a reason for freaking out, after all they had seen a lot of strange since entering wonderland.

The stranger took his gaze from the window and stared at Jack. "**_AH! Jack. How fortuitous to find you in here. I trust you and Alice have been doing well. I've been waiting for her to inquire on how things been faring, but she hasn't returned as of yet; seems she's having quite a bit of trouble back in her home dimension." _**He said in a nonplussed tone.

That comment caught the commander's attention. "Who are you? How do you know Jack and Alice?"

Jack answered that question before the man could speak. "His name's Moebius, he calls himself the Greek god of dreams. I didn't think he was for real at first, I thought he was just some weirdo with a god-complex. But then he did things and said things that were too out there to ignore. I don't know, I'm starting to have doubts."

The so called god made a dismissive motion with his hand and went back to look through out the window. **_"I already told you I'm not a god. It was mankind that has regarded me as such over the centuries for not being able to understand my true nature. My powers are way beyond the reach of the gods; even they have to employ a degree of caution when entering in my domain."_**

Shepard frowned at hearing that. He had a suspicion this man was not human, alongside a feeling that told him he should remember him from somewhere. "Then how should I call you? For some reason you remind me of someone I've met in the past."

This brought the not-god attention over Shepard. **_"Ah, yes! Commander Shepard. You may call me Dream, the lord and guardian of the dreaming. I don't think I need to elaborate what my title entails; you seem to be a smart one after all. And no, you and I haven't personally met yet, at least not beyond my occasional sight of your dream-consciousness passing through while I oversee those who traverse the dreaming. But you do have met one of my siblings already, my older twin sister in fact. You may remember her for the tattoo on her eye."_**

That brought the surface of a memory to the forefront of Shepard's mind. "_You know, all this can be enough to leave a girl swoon on her feet."_

"Death!" Exclaimed the commander in revelation.

Dream gave him a nod. **_"Indeed, my sister tends to always carry her assignments with a personal touch. She always seems to make an impression over those who meet her."_**

Shepard decided to be a good idea not to pry too much in the business of entities like Dream and his family so he steered the topic to a more immediate concern. "What do you know about Alice? Do you have any idea of what troubles her?"

**_"I'm afraid any insight I may give about her concerns on the physical world would be something you already don't know. My attentions are more focused in the issues that are developing inside wonderland right now."_**

That caught Shepard off-guard. "Is something wrong with wonderland?"

Dream brought his attention back to the window with a longing gaze. **_"Nothing that can be considered too serious yet... Alice's powers have recently become too great for her too control properly, the realm of wonderland that once used to exist solely inside young Alice's head is now transforming itself into a dimension of its own and is clashing with the forces of the universe for the right of becoming a plane of existence. Because of it, slips tend to occur here and there. That is why you and your teammates were able to enter in wonderland in the first place, the tears in reality that are resulting of this conflict of dimensions are what allow you to enter wonderland and go to the distant past." _**He said as if he was speaking of something as mundane as the weather.

Shepard required a little time to make sense of the things Dream had just spoke. "Wait a minute! I don't know you, but reality falling apart doesn't sound to be a pretty good thing to me. What happens if Alice can't get her powers under control?" he asked, feeling concerned for the girl.

The sudden serious expression that Dream took did nothing to reassure his worries. **_"Then the foundings of her wonderland would turn unstable, making this place to buckle unto itself dragging along every dimension and reality that was connected with it at the moment of collapse. Wonderland would then become a soft place, a term employed in the highest spheres of creation to label a certain zone were reality collides with other dimensions causing instabilities in the fabric of the universe. Past, present and future become one; for time stops to have any meaning inside a soft place, and the barriers between realms disappear allowing entities to move back and forth between dimensions. That is, if they ever manage to find a way out. Not many dare to enter a soft place willingly and fewer still ever manage to find an exit. As you can see, this eventuality is not something that is taken lightly by the powers that be, hence why I'm here overseeing the development of this situation."_**

The conversation had attracted the attention of the rest of the ground team, suffice to say they thought the situation to be; either, pretty serious or pretty messed up.

"I don't know, but that sounds pretty bad to me if it were to happen" said Shepard, even though many aspects about the matter were wayyyyyy above him. "So, are you here to give Alice a hand to preventing her wonderland from… collapsing as you say?"

Dream shook his head in a negative. **"_No… I can only offer her advice and guidance; I'm not permitted to make a direct approach unless the situation where to make a turn for the worst. There are ancient rules in place that forbids me from interfering in another realm's matters when it already has an appointed lord and ruler. In this case, Alice is the appointed ruler of this dimension since it is her own creation, it falls on her the responsibility to deal with any problem that may arise inside wonderland. Only when the problem goes beyond control and threatens the stability of the rest of the universe, I will be allowed to intervene."_**

Shepard wasn't taking that explanation very well, what kind of idiotic law was that? It kind off reminded him of the council at that. "That has no sense! Why would you not intervene if it is obvious you have the power to contain this situation from the beginning? What kind of higher power would allow an entire dimension to be so close to destruction when it could be prevented in time?" he asked dumbfounded.

Dream only reply was an nonchalant shrug **_"Well.. To be honest, these rules were not made for mortals to follow. Usually those who command and rule entire dimensions are only Gods or other divine beings or higher entities not too unlike me. It was never intended… In fact! I can hardly remember instances were a mortal has been able to create a dimension of its own to rule it as he, or in this case, she sees fit. These rules were made so that higher beings would not be stepping on the toes of each other when dealing with matters that can, and should, be resolved by the respective rulers of a specific realm… I believe you mortals are not unfamiliar to this kind of terms, yourselves. If I'm not mistaken, your law-enforcement agencies have a word to describe this situation. They call it jurisdiction, if I remember correctly." _**The endless stated, raking his memory (for it is debatable that what it is inside his head would be a brain, at least in the sense that most people would understand) for the specific definition he was looking for.

Obviously, that answer leaved the commander and any other who was listening mind-numb "Wait a minute…" Indeed, Shepard required some time for his mind to comprehend what he had been just told "You're telling me! That the reason because you cannot help Alice is because it's out of your Jurisdiction? Seriously; What the hell, man?!"

That little outburst actually managed to pull a chuckle out of the primordial entity **_"You've never stopped and wondered how the universe does to run itself, do you? Whatever legal restraints and procedures your mortal judicial systems have managed to come up with during your species entire histories, believe me, they don't hold a candle against the Divine Bureaucracy that is run in the highest spheres of creation. But you shouldn't worry about Alice that much, is not the first time she has to prevent a crisis that's been threatening to destroy her Wonderland before. She's much stronger and able than what she appears at first sight, I have faith she'll be able to deal with this situation on her own. But you first have to make sure she's safe on the waking world before trying to fix the problems of her dream world."_**

That statement hit Shepard like a bucket of cold water. It reminded him right away of his mission and more immediate concerns. "That's…. That's true (…..) but what good would it do if I save Alice now, only to be unable to help her later when her mind comes in danger of being destroyed?"

Dream remained impassive and stared at Shepard intently. **_"I know you think the situation to be rather frustrating right now. But don't worry, the truth is, this little issue with wonderland is not that serious. Yes, the consequences for failing are quite dangerous, but the solution for this problem is quite simple and nothing outrageous in the least. All she has to do is train to control the new increase of her powers and find her center to keep things form going haywire. Nothing that a few hours of meditation per day wouldn't fix; I'm pretty sure you're more than qualified to help her in this regard." _**Dream said in a bored tone, waving off the tension with a flick of his hand.

Obviously, the commander was flabbergasted by that answer, in his experience, things are never that easy. "That's it! That sounds almost too easy to be true."

Dream was now half-acknowledging him, going back to peering through the window of his seat. **_"Not all things are resolved by blowing up stuff or shooting people up Commander. A man with an impressive military career like you should already know that the most complicated problems tend to have the most simplest of solutions. Also on the other side of the coin, the fact that something is simple does not mean that it will be easy, often the simplest things are the ones that can be the most difficult to accomplish."_**

Shepard really couldn't find fault in that logic. He had forgotten he already knew that, how foolish of him. "Maybe you're right. Still I can't help but worry knowing if Alice were to fail she could die. But you're right there's no use worry about that right now. I have a more real and immediate threat against Alice to deal with at the moment. I'll worry about the rest once she's safe and back at the Normandy"

Dream nodded at that course of action **_"That is a sensible choice; I would also tell you not fret over the business of higher beings. They usually tend to resolve themselves on their own, you should relax instead. Your destination, and the path you're about to traverse, are filled with much dangers and adversities. It would be inadvisable for you to try to brave them without a clear head."_**

"Is that your last piece of advice?" asked the Spectre.

**_"My advice to you would be to stop worrying about the big things, they're out of your reach and there's nothing that can be done about it, after all. Instead, focus on the little things; try to take care of every single one little issue that may arise, no matter how drab or banal they may be. Do this and you'll see how the big things will take care of themselves. Do not despair, I have confidence that you'll manage to pull through for Alice. Just keep doing what you do best, that'll be enough to help her wade through any problem she has to deal with. Now if you excuse me, I would like to have some time to enjoy the view."_** Dream said as closing statement. He then went back to see the flowing landscape through the window, taking his attention completely away from the commander, signifying the end of their conversation.

Shepard decided to respect his wishes and leaved the ancient being in peace for now, He needed time to ponder his words and advice given through the conversation anyway. The commander left in search of a seat, Jack too decided to follow his lead since dealing with Dream was something way out of her usual fields of expertise. In the end Shepard too decided for an empty window seat to look towards the sights that wonderland had to offer, maybe if he followed Dream's advice and relaxed instead of getting all worked up about things he cannot change would help him understand better the wisdom in the words of the ancient god of dreams.

* * *

><p>Alice was cursing, helpless and in desperation, at the heavens for her bad luck. How did everything turned out this badly after all the cautious steps she took to escape from London and avoid detection? The worst and most dreaded ending she had been trying too fervently from preventing had just come to pass. She had been captured! She was currently bound, stripped from her belongings and was being carted back towards Rutledge Asylum. Her worst fears and nightmares were about to become a reality. She had trashed and fight with all her might against such a fate, but all her efforts were for naught. She was too tired now to even consider giving fully into desperation. All she could do in her almost torpor state was to replay the events in her mind that leaved her condemned to this wretched destiny.<p>

_Flashback_

_Her grip on the knife was getting slippery more and more as the seconds passed. The blood that trickled from the blade soaked completely in the vitae was the reason why her grip was faltering. It had already stained her black wool gloves, filtering through the fabric and coming in contact with her skin despite the hand-wear, muddling her grasp on the weapon. She would have to get rid of that glove after this, what a drag! It was one from the only par she had with her._

_She had done it again! She had killed someone once more but this time, just like when confronting Bumby, she had done it with all the intention of the world without feeling not even a minuscule pang of regret because her newest victim was a despicable excuse of human being, trash whose death made the world a better place._

_While making her way through London's seedier and rundown parts trying to keep herself ahead of the police that surprisingly was still carrying on with her search for her even here where the gangs take residence, she stumbled with someone she hadn't saw for the past 6 months. She could probably have made do without meeting him again for the rest of her life._

_Wasn't like she had the intention to murder someone in the middle of the night when she awoke this morning, but when you're walking through a dark alley during late hours and you hear the scream of a woman, you usually felt compelled to go and take a look. Imagine her surprise when Alice found a man trying to assault a woman in a dark corner. Nevermind you could clearly tell that the woman was a Judy, it was the idea of the principle that mattered._

_Her surprise was even greater when she managed to take a good look at the attacker. It was that Jack Splatter fellow that had broke in Nan's brothel six months ago, killing Long Tim and almost leaving her for dead by smacking her unconscious with a blow to the head and setting fire to Nan's establishment until it burned down. Yes, she certainly had an ax to grind with this one._

_So she confronted the wretched man, taking his attention away from the woman who was sporting several cuts already, giving her time to run away from her attacker in a fit of screams and go in search for help as loud as her set of lungs allowed her. But Jack didn't care about that; it seemed he had not forgotten her after all these months._

_"Well… Look what we have here, if it isn't crazy lil' Alice. What a surprise to find you in here! Should I feel honored that you've so gently decided to take a moment from your, oh! so busy schedule to have a word with me? Talk on the street says you're being pretty sought after as of late. You tramps are all the same, always enrapturing the attentions of men. I still haven't forgotten your kind words to me that night at the Gaol, I'm of a mind to show my appreciation of them."_

_Alice did nothing to show her disgust at the known killer and arsonist with a scowl marring her usual sweet features. "Jack Splatter… Can't say I'm glad to meet you once more. Still being a blood-sucking leech like usual. You haven't changed in the least, you still are the same parasite of society for what I see. Aren't you supposed to be in jail?"_

_The murderous crook did not appreciate the insult and smacked Alice in the face sending her to the ground. "Shut up whore! Your kind has no right to speak to your betters like that! Because of you and that whore you call Nan, I spent 3 months in the Gaol. But as you can see, I managed to get out, but now I have to live with an eye over my shoulder now that I'm a wanted man. So I decided to get revenge on your kind for what you've done to me. Seems fortune is smiling on me since one of those responsible for my disgrace has been delivered to me in a silver platter and I don't intend to waste this opportunity! I'm going to make sure to teach you a lesson" Jack said with a maniacal glint in his eyes while raising his blade and start caressing it with sensual hand-motions. "Yes… I believe a very thorough lesson is in order"_

_Alice turned from her prone position and looked at him with a deep hatred in her eyes, nurturing her busted lip with a hand. Her look of defiance was not appreciated by the madman._

_"What's with that look!? Stop looking at me! You dare to look at me with such disapproval! As if you are fit to judge me! How dare you judge me!? You're nothing! Just a little shameless slut whose reckoning has finally come! I'll carve out your eyes for daring to look at me. Maybe after I'm done with you I should pay a visit to that slut of a Nan of yours. Should end what I began six months ago…"_

_Jack approached the girl in his rage induced madness and pulled her from her hair with as much brutality as he could muster. Alice endured the sudden surge of pain with much defiance, she was not going to give him the satisfaction of making her scream. And she was not as helpless as he believed her to be._

_With all the strength she could muster, she brought her fist right into Jack's crotch, toppling the criminal over and making him wail like a little girl._

_"AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…. YOU BITCH" screamed the crook clutching his injured manhood._

_Now any other woman in her right mind would have taken this opportunity to put as much miles between her and her attacker by now, but as we already know, Alice is not just any other woman. So what did she do? She pulled out her own knife and decided to turn Jack into her personal pincushion or knife-cushion in this case._

_Jack was too stupefied to react when Alice sink her knife in the middle of his chest, his brain needing a few seconds to process this sudden turn of the tables. It wasn't until Alice gave a sharp twist to the knife to cause the blade to do the major amount of damage possible and then began to carve a bloodied trail all over his thoracic cage that he was able to show a reaction._

_"Aaaaargh! Ack! Ghk! D… Damn you, harlot…" Jack spat, choking and barely able to speak because of the blood flooding and drowning his lungs. He crumbled backwards on the street, sitting with his back on a wall, wheezing. It was a sure thing that his life was not far from ending, at the distance; one could hear the shouts and noises from the police getting near. Alice thought prudent to leave._

_The dying psychopath let out a last painful chuckle. "I hope they catch you… I hope they catch you and toss you in a dark hole for the rest of your life, it is more than you deserve… But I will enjoy knowing you'll suffer until your dying breath once they send you back to the Asylum… I just regret… I'll not be able to be there to see it… Beeeeerghhhhh…" Jack choked and coughed a little blood before laying still, so ended to life of Jack Splatter a poor excuse of a man who didn't amount to be nothing more than a low-level pimp, a liar, a rapist, a cheat, a killer and a psycho. And in the end he got himself being killed by a young petite girl in a run-down and seedy dark alley._

_Alice didn't bother to give one last look or some parting words to the dead man; he wasn't worth it. Besides, she had some other, **more**, pressing concerns at the moment._

_High tailing it, Alice went deeper into the alley hoping she could find a way to disappear through a side street. She didn't count that the cops were not the only ones chasing after her._

_"Oooooffffff!" Alice mouthed after bumping into something really big; or in this case, someone…_

_"Look 'ere brother… Isn't that loony, everybod's looking fo'? You remember her time in d' Asylum, a'ight? What was her name?"_

_"Aye, bro'. I remember little Alice 'ere, I remember d' scar she gave me that time during supper. She's grow some, not by much. Still not enough to pass her as a competent dish"_

_Alice mentally cringed at hearing those voices, her train of thought was on the line of "Oh God, not them, not here, not now." But of course her prayers went unheeded and she was left no other option but to face the ugly reality._

_Standing before her were the two orderlies that used to torment her during her time in Rutledge. The superintendent nephews! One could consider them the real life counterparts of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, both were big, both were burly and both were complete blockheads. But right now, Alice could only use one word to describe them and that was trouble._

_"Seems she's bound fo' a returning trip to d' Asylum. Always knew she would return someday, didn't I? Should we take her now?" Asked one of the big oafs towards his companion with a wicked grin._

_"Aye, we should. But we should take our time too. N'body said anything 'bout bringing her fresh… or unspoiled. Would serve her right to remind her not to mess with us after all d' trouble she gave us." said the other before approaching menacingly towards the young girl, one hand forward with the intent to grab her._

_Alice had already endured a trying encounter that she would had preferred to have avoided entirely and was not in the mood for seconds. "Get out of my way you dullards! I don't have time for the likes of you!" She yelled before slashing at the offending hand with her knife, eliciting a scream from the burly man making him take a step back. She then tried to stab him in the neck but that step back managed to be a decisive factor and she only managed to stab him in the shoulder, close to the collarbone._

_"BRO! Get away fro' him you WENCH!" The other sibling bellowed and quickly went in help of his twin. Alice response was a slash to the face._

_"AAAAAAAGH!"_

_Now Alice found this to be the perfect moment to make herself scarce, with one of the two thugs incapacitated and the other unable to see properly because of the blood on his eyes blurring his vision. She didn't even bothered to make a smart comment as parting words, considering it a waste of time with the police so close to her location and approaching._

_Sadly it was too late for her to escape; the police had already closed the roads and put men in every alleyway after being tipped by the whore Jack was assaulting and finding the madman's corpse while she was busy dealing with the twins. So Alice found herself hounded from all sides with cops lying in wait at every turn. It wasn't long before they finally managed to corner her._

_Unlike when dealing with Jack or the twins, Alice knew that trying to fight the police was plain stupid. She tried one last desperate effort to escape by attempting to shove and push her way out, not very effective when the odds are composed of a petite girl against several big men. It wasn't a surprise that they caught her._

_She didn't resist when they took her knife away, that would had been incredible moronic, but when they began to search her and some hands were reaching very close to some inappropriate places, she decided to retaliate._

_SLAP!_

_"Keep those wandering hands to yourself! I don't appreciate being touched on such personal places without having given my consent first."_

_This of course rapidly escalated into a little struggle and the cops had to drag Alice, kicking and screaming into a cart bound for the Asylum. They read her rights to her and informed her that the decision had been made to sent her back to Rutledge because of her assaults on Radcliffe and the superintendent's nephews were some serious breaches on her acclimatization period (killing Pris Witless and Jack Splatter didn't count since they could be labeled as self defense and there were witnesses for both cases that could confirm this claim) But she was to be sent back to the Asylum to diagnose her mental state and deem if she was fit to be living among the rest of society since the latest incidents in which she's been involved have been pretty serious._

_Flashback ends_

And that's how she found herself in her current situation, tired and defeated, she could do nothing but be at the mercy of fate. No… She would not let it end like this! She would not allow them to try to break her again. She knows she's defeated for now, but not vanquished. She will bide her time for now and wait for an opportunity to escape. The last time she was confined, she was nothing but a broken doll, but this time her mind is of her own and she would make sure to put into to the best and maximum use. They would not know what hit them when she unleashes that special kind of hell only she can deliver. All of them will suffer the same fate of those who have tried to break her mind before and failed, like Bumby. She will not bow to the whims of her destiny, she will fight with teeth and nail if she has too, but she will rise over the obstacles that fate has declared to throw in her way. She will beat fate itself and forge her own destiny by herself…

She will be free…

In some place, far away from time and space, Destiny was reading all this on his book… and he smiled.

* * *

><p><em>Well that is all for now, sorry to disappoint if any of you were expecting the debut of the Queen of hearts but I had to deal with these 2 scenes first. And least you can be sure that there's nothing else in the way for the Queensland incursion. I don't intend for anymore scenes in London until Shepard and his team arrives in the past.<em>

_And then comes Alice's rescue and escaping back to the Normandy, effectively and decisively leaving her in Shepard's time permanently. No more London scenes and then I can fully focus in the Mass Effect games plot, alongside my own._

_Anyway, I'm working in other stories too, so that factored in the time it took me for writing this chapter. But they're going to be ready soon, so keep an eye on my profile for when I upload them._

_Been working alongside my brother in a crossover between Ranma and Skyrim, which is a weird thing that no one has thought in one before, and we've been making very good progress. Is not that elaborated or descriptive like this story, though. I decided to write that story in a script format to reduce the writing time. But is good and thanks to my brother's support the first chapter is turning to be pretty long, we have 50 pages already!_

_Note that unlike this work, that one is not a serious one. We're playing it just for laughs, so it has a lot of ridiculous and incredibly stupid situations. Just so you know to avoid some people from getting prissy if some scenes border on Mary-Sue levels._

_My brother is fan of the Ranma stories from _Black Dragon6, _and one day he approached me and said; "Hey, let's do a Ranma ½ story with Skyrim just like these ones. It would be pretty cool don't you think?" and I said "Sure… Let's do it."_

_So if you read any of Black Dragon6 works, you should know what to expect. By the way my brother has an account in this site too, name's Farcochat but he doesn't write anything, I'm the one who writes the stories._

_Anyway, so that's what I've been up to lately. So make sure to keep an eye on my profile for any update and leave a review for this chapter, and I'll read you all next time._


	22. Careful with the head

**Author's note: **Alright, finally! Here's the next update for this story; 'Tis been like 3 months since I last updated this story isn't it? Well, I've been a little tied up with other projects, new stories I've been writing on the side, like my new crossover of Hokuto No Ken/Warcraft. Though I still haven't tidy up the other stories enough to my liking. So there will be still some time before I upload them, but they're getting there.

Anyway, here's the latest installment of this story. Hope you like it and all that.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

**CHAPTER 19**

**CAREFUL WITH THE HEAD**

The fortress train was fast aproaching its last station, the end of the line, Queensland. It began to reduce its velocity while engaging the breaks to stop its motion. A loud screech that resonated through the entire valley signaled the passengers of their arrival. The train final halt was marked with a thick bellow of smoke and a hard groan of machinery.

The first one to step down from the mechanical monstrosity was Commander Shepard. He took a moment to glance at his surroudings once he was in the ground, what he saw was not promising. An arid and desolated broken land filled with schams and pits everywhere. In the distance one could see the shattered and crumbling remains of what was once a splendid castle with his surrounding stronghold, its main gates laying bent and broken wide open. It was a pretty depressing sight.

Shepard heard the steps of his companions coming down the train behind him and the voice of the Mock Turtle adressing at him, pulling him out of his reverie. "This is as far as I can take you. Beyond those gates lies what's left of the Queen of Hearts Kingdom. Ugh… I can never keep from shuddering when being near to the place. Be careful while in there! The place may be deserted and abandoned, but that does not mean it is uninhabitated. Who knows what nightmares still remain dormant in there…"

Commander Shepard nodded in understanding. "Thanks for the heads-up, we'll be careful, I assure you. I'm not of the tendency of being caught of guard if I can avoid it. Ok team, form up and get inside, but make sure to keep an eye out for trouble."

The Mock Turtle stepped out of the cabin and waved them goodbye "Best of Lucks to all of you. I hope you're succesful in your mission. You all appear to be a good sort to me, so I would be really sad if I were to receive news of your demise…"

Not everyone in the ground team was glad for that choice of words "What kind of goodbye is that? I really don't feel comfortable with someone making mentions of my impending death when I'm about to enter a dangerous place. As if we don't have enough things to worry about already…" Said Miranda who had been bothered by the turtle's parting words.

"Easy Miranda, don't let it bother you." Shepard reassured "This wouldn't be the first time we found ourselves in a sticky situation. Just take it with the same focus as any other mission and everything will be alright."

Although everyone in the ground team knew that Shepard was just trying to keep the moral up. Many couldn't help but doubt his claims. "Well I admit I've done the most peculiar missions of my entire career since I've been serving by your side, Shepard. But I still have to remember one in which we had to enter through a portal into another Dimension. I know we haven't stumbled yet against anything that we couldn't handle, but this place is starting to really gie me the creeps." Said Garrus with a little edge in his voice, peering at his surroundings with caution, looking for any sign of trouble.

Shepard's only response was a non-commital shrug. The team kept walking towards the broken entrance to the Queen of hearts kingdom, being careful not to fall through one of the pits that dotted the landscape. Whatever catastrophe that had struck this land had certainly been devastating.

They passed through the broken gates withouth any hitch, an entered in what once was a courtyard. They made their way through the broken remnants of the front garden (A task that should had taken them just a couple of minutes but it ended taking them the better part of an hour because it was really hard to traverse the shattered and uneven landscape filled with schams, it was like as if an eartquake had hit the place migthy hard) only to discover that the main entrance to the castle had crumbled. It appeard they had to look for another way to get inside.

The news didn't managed to cheer up the members of the ground team in the least "Well it only took us forever to reach the front door, what is a couple more hours trying to find a window?" Kasumi said with dejected sarcasm.

Shepard was about to reply when suddenly the ground started to tremble.

For a moment Shepard chastized himself mentally for not considering the possibility that this land may indeed be a regular host for earthquakes, since there's the obvious evidence of such kind of disaster lying around. "EARTHQUAKE! Everyone hit the…" His orders were interrupted when several mounds of dirt started to pile up all around the team and a bony hand rose suddenly from inside one of them.

"The fuck is that!" Jack said pointing at the creatures that were coming out of the mounds. They were a bizarre mixture between man and poker cards. The body of a giant card but with the arms, legs and face of a man, except that they appeared to be dead, for the face was nothing more than a rotten decaying skull of bleached bone; the same with the limbs and any other body part that could be seen through the rips of their blood stained uniforms.

"What the fuck? Zombies!? Card Zombies!? What the hell!?"

The only answer to Jack's yells were a series of snarls and growls coming from the undead card-men who seemed eager to taste the flesh of the living.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRRWWW!"

Obviously, such bizarre sight proved disturbing to even the most weathered veterans of the group like Shepard, Garrus and Zaeed. But as a testament to their resolve, they kept any shock that they may be feeling at the moment from showing on their faces, and simply pulled out their guns and turned the safeties off without uttering a word and began taking aim in a collected and professional manner.

All that was left to do was for Shepard to give the signal. "Shoot them down!"

A volley of gunfire struck over the wretched creatures, riddling their bodies with tiny little holes that didn't do much to bring them down. They began to move forward ignoring all wounds and every impact crashing into their bodies.

"Shit! This isn't working!"

That is, until Zaeed pulled out his carnifex and blew half the face of one of the zombies making him fall on his back unmoving. "Feh! There's only one way to deal with zombies. And that is a bullet to the head… just like in the old flicks."

The others followed Zaeed example after that, Shepard riddling skulls with his Mattock and Garrus aiming for the headshots too with his own assault rifle; not able to use his sniper since they were too close to their targets while in an open space with no cover.

Jack pulled out her shotgun. "Take this assholes!" and blew one of the creatures in half with the top half ending crawling down in the floor still with the intention to taste the flesh of the living, only for a second shot to leave it headless.

The situation quickly spiraled into a western shotout or something akin to it, if the Wild West were to suddenly become overrun by zombies and the cowboys had to put them down. Such a scenario has been seen before, not often but it has happened in the past.

Anyway, even though the ground team was managing to keep their zombie attackers at bay thanks to an expeditive dosage of lead (or whatever it is that mass accelerator guns shoot from their muzzles) the situation turned a bit more hectic once the ground team began to pull out the heavy guns.

First on the line was Grunt going berserk. "RAAAAAAAARGH! I'M KROGAAAAAAAN!" and charging like a freight train right in the middle of the zombie lines, smacking them left and right or stomping them under his foot, because seriously, one meager zombie card could never have the chance to stand against that much Krogan.

Then the biotics of the group started to toss highly concentrated proyectiles of biotic energy like there was no tomorrow, making entire lines of the zombie horde to fly away, especially Jack with her shockwave attack. Mording was using his tech attacks to set enemies on fire or electrocute them. And then Zaeed pulled out his incendiary graneades.

Suffice to say; the battle was a total chaos filled with fire, explosions (normal and biotic) and powers flying everywhere, marring the landscape even more than what it already was. The good thing was that after the dust had settled and the last of the card zombies drew his last moan, an opening inside the main fortess revealed itself when an entire wall crumbled down during the battle. Convenient one could say.

"Well, that saves us the trouble of finding a way in." Said Kasumi in a sassy tone.

Opting best from commenting, the commander signaled his team to enter through the recent opening. "Let's go people, double time! We have no time to waste"

The interior of the fortress was not in much better condition than the outside. Most of the place was ransacked; furniture lay broken, valuables lay strewn across the floor, courtains were tattered or ripped in some places and entire tapestries and paintings had fallen from their place and were lying on the ground collecting dust. And even though, in general, many rooms were still in one piece, if a bit in need of maintenance, entire corridors and sections of other rooms had sunked down and now hosted deep schams or pits in their interiors, not to mention uneven floor as some sections had been lifted or lowered beyond the ground level. In short, it was going to be hell to traverse this place.

There was nothing that any of the members of the ground team could do but resign themselves to their fate, so with a collective sigh they began to explore the interior of the massive outer fortress.

They just managed to take a few steps inside the stronghold when a disemboweled voice was heard trough out the place. "**_Trespassers are not welcomed in here! Leave this place now and I shall allow you to keep your pitiful hides unscathed. Ignore my warnings; however, and continue with your present foolish course, and I shall decorate the walls of this castle with your heads._**"

"Well then, that was such a warm and fuzzy welcome. I feel loved already." Kasumi said, laying it tick with the sarcasm.

Shepard ignored that comment and instead focused on the task ahead "Keep your eyes open and your weapons drawn at all time people! We don't know what may be waiting for us, and make sure to watch the corners!"

They proceed to make their way through the runned down halls of the crumbling fortress, it was a pretty depressing sight, not to mention dangerous too. Chasms and pitfalls were laying about everywhere, making the terrain difficult to navigate, and from time to time, the group found themselves attacked by more of those card men/zombies. And all the while, they had to endure the taunts of an evil disemboweled voice that promised them nothing but pain and death.

"**_The perfect guest does not overstay… The perfect guest knows when to leave. But you're neither guest nor visit; you are nothing but undesired interlopers and your prescense in here shall not be tolerated._**_"_

Soon the team discovered that when the ominous evil voice stops speaking, it means you're about to be attacked by more card/zombies. And they usually were a grade above the common ones.

* * *

><p>Shepard ejected the thermal clip of his shotgun after blasting another of those zombies in half. This new batch came with the surprise that they posessed some kind of natural armor, because their skulls were made of metal, meaning that head-shots were ruled out. Blasting them with heavy caliber ordenance was still effective though, and they were still suceptible to incendiary and electric attacks, not to mention Grunt too; even though these new armored enemy varyants could not be squashed like the regular ones, that just meaned that the Krogan had to settle with ripping them appart with his bare hands. A pretty messy thing to witness, indeed.<p>

"The opposition is getting ticker and stronger the deeper we go. Just how much we'll have to fight to reach the Queen of hearts?" Miranda, the raven-haired Cerberus beauty, asked. She was starting to get tired of all this monotonous battles.

"Yeah, I've had enough of that bitch's voice roaring in my ears. Just where the fuck is she? Let's find her, so I can put a biotic blast right in her fucking mouth!" Jack said, her patience already gone after having to face too many zombie cards one after the other.

"Easy there team, I know our progress has been slow, but that's not a reason to lose our tempers. We have killed too many of her minions already. So I'm sure she must be running low on bodies to throw at us by now. Let's simply try to find a way out of here. I think I see and exit just right over the next arch." Said the commander, trying to maintain the team's discipline and keep their moods from heating up.

Luckyly for all involved, the commander's prediction turned to be true. They passed underneath the last arc and found themselves at the entrance of an immense garden maze in a very poor condition. The ground was shattered and broken, just like everything else seen so far, so no surprise there. But all the plants in their pots had long dried up and died. All the bushes and shrubbery that composed the maze's walls were dry and yellow and there were signs of destruction lying about. Entire sections of the maze garden were destroyed, looking as if something had stepped upon them, hinting that something pretty big had passed through here and had a field day with the place.

At the distance, one could see the imposing towers of the Queen of hearts main palace.

"Well, at least the road looks pretty straightfoward." Garrus said, pointing at the trail of destruction that seemed to go all the way to the palace. Whatever had passed through here, had clearly went on the same direction that the ground team was trying to reach, so following in its footsteps (lyterally, because there were giant footsteps marked on the ground) would surely save them a lot of time in reaching their destination.

They followed the trail of destruction, moving withouth almost no obstacles in their way. So far, this was proving their easiest trek since they stepped down from the train. Whatever had passed through here had certainly done a good job in thining the opposition.

Scores and scores of card/zombies lay dead on the ground. It seemed as if the entire army of the Queen's of hearts had been decimated on a single strike. The team now found itself rarely attacked, except for the odd zombie roaming aimlessly. This did wonders to improve the team's morale, now that the only thing they had to worry about was to walk and take on the sights.

"You know this place looks pretty impressive, even with all the damage it suferred. I wonder how it may have looked like in its prime condition." Jacob said, wondering out loud.

It was Kasumi who offered him a response first. "Pretty amazing like the rest of wonderland, I wager. A place where you'd like to go and spend your entire vacations in, that is, if you have a thing for tiny psycophatic maniacs with a fetish for decapitations… Oh, I'm sorry if I'm sounding to blunt Jacob baby, is just that all this climbing over cliffs and fighting hordes after hordes of zombies is finally getting to me. I feel as if I'm trapped in some kind of bizarre videogame. This is not how I imagined this little trip to wonderland would be. Man, this Alice must have some serious mental issues…"

Garrus couldn't help but comment at that statement. "I think we all noticed that the moment we saw the creepy grinning cat or the ominous train-fortress, or the piranhas with legs, or the rivers of blood, or the card-zombies, or the flying mountains, or the giant teapots…"

"Or the bread-butterflies…" Miranda said.

"Or the Kamikaze ladybugs…" Zaeed said.

"Or the whales, humpbacks I believe, swimming upside down in the sky…" Mordin said.

"Or the fucking impossible landscape that is a pain in the ass to walk through…" Jack said.

"Or the falls of black tears…" Shepard said.

"Ok, Ok, I got your point… Geez! I was just saying…" Kasumi said irked with her arms crossed and decidedly put an end to the conversation.

If it wasn't for the last member of the team, who had abstained from commenting so far, decided to give his input. "I don't know what you aliens are crying all about? All this battle makes my blood sing with joy. It gives me the chance to prove how much of a true Krogan warrior I am."

Kasumi was not impressed by Grunt's statement, however. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Why I'm not surprised that our resident Krogan supersoldier with rage issuess, is the only one who seems to be actually enjoying himself on this little trip. Even Jack has enough already from all this endless bloodshed."

Jack piped in, not sharing Kasumi's opinion. "Hey! I never fucking said anything about getting tired of the killing. I'm always up for a little bloodshed, every time I kill something I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Ever since we got down that train, I haven't stopped feeling all gidy from the pleasure of shooting all these assholes. I'm only tired because of the fucking annoying voice of the Queen grating at my nerves that always says nothing but annoying shit at all times. Fucking coward I say, why that fucking queen dosen't appear in person, so we can kill her just like the rest of her fucking minions!?"

Grunt bellowed a challenge and bumped his fists together in exciment at Jack's statement. "I agree with the hairless human, why the leader of these walking skeletons dosen't stand before us and face us personally in honorable combat like she should? It is the mark of the weak to have their troops do the fighting for them."

Again, Kasumi was not impressed; in fact, it appeared she was even more sullen. "Awww… This is what I get for asking our resident psychos what they think about constant slaughter. No wait I'm still missing one! Zaeed, my old grumpy maniac and badass mercenary, what do you think about all the monsters we've been killing?" She said, sarcasm flowing heavily from her voice.

Zaeed buffed a little, sligthy amused at Kasumi's tantrum "They're pussies, that's all I have to say. But I must confess that all the satisfaction I'm getting from blowing their faces off it's almost therapeutic. It brings me back to the times when me and Jessie used to bring down entire enemy plattoons on our own, while stranded deep behind enemy lines. Ah; How I miss that bitch."

"No kidding…"

Kasumi made no other comments after that.

They continued walking and following the trail of destruction until reaching the inner castle of the Queen of hearts. Only to be disgusted by its interior.

It was as if they had suddenly stepped inside the intestines of some giant creature, the walls were made of flesh and organs covered in blood and other fluids that pulsated rythmically as if they were alive. This whole situation had suddenly become an impromptu hands-on biology lesson that many of the ground team could have done withouth.

"Dear… lord… I think I'm about to return breakfast." Said Miranda, looking rather pale.

"And there goes the rest of my mental peace." Kasumi deadpanned. "Uck! I don't even want to think what I'm stepping on."

Jack wasn't fazed in the least, however. "Nah, nothing I hadn't seen or done to others before." She said before stepping inside the castle of flesh with a pretty non-chalant attitude.

Seeing that they were just wasting time standing idle in front of the entrance, the rest of the team followed after her.

Despite the castle's decorations being rather disturbing, the entire place was fairly abandoned. They didn't found either sight or trace of any creature or guard that might be waiting to ambush and engage them in battle. It was really odd to see their current enemy's seat of power being devoid of any kind of defense, but they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so they just moved on.

The ground team found itself, positively, even more weirded out when they found a giant slide as the only way to move around the castle. It was so bizarre to see such infantile implement in the middle of all this gore and blood.

"No fucking way…" Was the first thing that came out Jack's mouth when seeing the giant slide.

"Ok, I cannot stress how much creeped out I am by the weirdness of this situation." Deadpanned Garrus with a blank face.

Shepard just stared at the giant child's plaything for a moment, his mind unable to comprehend what the fuck something like that was doing inside a place like this. That is until his mind couldn't deal with the strangeness anymore and just said "Ah, fuck it!" before jumping down that slide. The rest of the team just stood watching incredously for only a moment before following suit.

It was actually a pretty fun ride going down on that slide, of course if one were to ignore the fact that there was a high chance of one falling to its own death, because the thing had no railings and you could not see the bottom because it was that deep. Or that there were random piles of rubble and some acidic residue laying around on several sections of the slide that one should to do its best to avoid. But for the most part, it was a pretty fun ride and soon enough the team reached the end of it.

Kasumi was grinning like an idiot. "I want to go again!" she said in a pretty childish voice.

Shepard rolled his eyes and motioned his team forward. "Ok, team! Let's see what's behind the big red door" he said referring to the giant set of doors that led into the Queen of hearts inner sanctum.

The room beyond was obviously the throne room. The interior was practically bare, except from the big and elaborated throne in the middle of the room suspended over a bottomless pit because the place had no floor, and only a narrow walkway allowed the throne to be reached. The only other thing of note about the room was the tentacles. Big, long, slimy, tick appendices that withered and wiggled coming out from the darkness of the pit and reaching into the ceiling, they were on the walls, on both sides of the walkway, but most of all, they were centered around the throne in the middle of the room and covered whoever was sitting on the throne from being seeing. The looks of disgust from the ground team at seeing such scene did not wait.

Kasumi stared with the most impassive face in the history of ever and said. "If someone makes a comment about tentacles and me being Japanese, I swear to god I will break into your rooms and give all of your stuff for free at the Citadel…"

Whatever remark that could have followed that statement was interrupted by the sight of the tentacles around the throne parting away and revealing a pale little girl wearing a classic royalty dress, a tiny cutsie crown on top of her head and having giant, deformed, mauled and bloodied hands that were half her body size, sitting in the throne.

"**_Intruders, in my home!? How dare you!? I have been merciful so far and given you all the chanceof the world to leave my kingdom with your lives intact, but you have ignored my warnings time and again. No more! It's time for me to show you personally what happens to undesired interlopers._**"

For a moment, the entire ground team just stared at the little child, their minds unable to link this cute little girl with the terrifying and demonic voice of the queen.

Jack was the first to express her confusion. "This is the fucking queen? What the fuck!? She's just a little shit!"

"Shouldn't underestimate Red Queen's threat level based solely on appearances." Mordin said leveling his smg sights upon the Queen. "As trip through Wonderland has showed us, despite looking harmless at first sight, visages tend to conceal pretty lethal threaths. Should not lower guard while around her, it could prove detrimental for health."

Before someone could comment, the entire team had to dive away suddenly because the tentacles came crashing down on their position. "**_Off with your heads_**." Came the resounding voice of the Queen while Shepard's teammates brazed themselves against the flying debris.

One after the other, the tentacles came down upon the walkway, trying to crush Shepard and his teammates who found themselves hard-pressed to avoid being flattened like bugs.

Kasumi vaulted and ducked over several tentacles "Goddamit! This is the reason why I leaved Japan in the first place; to get away from this shit, Ugh!"

Grunt was becoming incensantly excited despite the serious threath to him and his teammate's lives. In his mind this was the challenge he was looking to prove himself as a true Krogan warrior. He charged at the Queen with a roar, unheeding of Shepard's commands to not do so.

"I AM KROGAN!"

RAAAAAAAAAWR!

"Grunt! No! Wait!"

**WACK!**

With a bored look on her face and a lazy flick of a tentacle, the Queen of hearts wacked Grunt and send him flying all across the room and out through the big double doors just when he was about to climb the steps at the base of her throne.

"**_Even a dog knows how to behave when in the prescence of his betters._**" The Queen said derisively.

Jack was having enough of the Queen's attitude, the memory of how she had to endure her taunts and threaths through this entire trip snaped what little she had of patience left. She began to charge a pretty big biotic projectile. "Take this, Bitch!" She said before releasing the impressive collection of biotic energy only for it to be blocked by a wall of tentacles, although the Queen managed to negate a direct hit, that didn't mean she didn't get her appendices injured as result.

"**_RAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!_**" She screamed in pain, her tentacles flaying wildly after blocking that hit.

Shepard took this opportunity to rally the team. "Quickly! Hit her with everything you got, don't give those tentacles any pause!" ha said before bolting towards the throne, shooting as he was moving.

Projectiles started to rain down upon the queen and her appendicces, impeding her from making cohesive attacks, although that didn't meant she couldn't retaliate out of desperation since the constant attacks upon her person only managed to make her increasingly violent. But keeping her out of focus did give Shepard and his team a tactical advantage, one that they exploited.

Shepard activated his adrenaline rush, the world around him started to move in slow-motion giving him the chance to get closer to the queen withouth getting hit by one of the tentacles trashing wildly. He shot a concussion round at the Queen just as his skill was about to burn out. It pissed the Queen so much that she began to screech in rage.

A tentacle was about to stomp him in retaliation, but it was severed by a sniper round from Garrus, enraging the Queen even more. Taking a quick glimpse behind him, Shepard saw Zaeed, Mordin and Jacob being swated aside by a single tentacle, Miranda was being held in the air by another appendice with Kasumi stabbing the tentacle with her omniblade in order to release her, Garrus was helping Grunt to stand back up while providing covering fire and Jack was releasing bursts of biotic power to keep most of the tentacles at bay.

Shepard had to bring his attention back to the matter at hand because the Queen was still trying to kill him; he rolled under a tentacle swipe, evaded another trying to squash him from the side and vaulted over, yet another, tentacle trying to grab him. He landed on a prone position atop the steps at the base of the Queen's throne; he quickly pulled out his Phalanx and took a shot at the Queen that managed to graze her cheek. That action effectively brought an abrupt end all hostile action against him and his team. The Queen turned her gaze to look directly at him, and for a moment both combatants stood looking each other directly into the eyes.

Shepard could see the rage and madness boiling inside the Queen's eyes, barely contained under her childish frame, but it did nothing to faze him. He glared back with a look of supreme determination showing there was notthing that would make him falter from his mission.

"Stand aside and let us through, we need to go and save Alice. I don't want to cause any trouble, believe me, but if you get in our way I'm not going to hesitate in putting you down." He said, loud and clear.

The Queen of hearts scoffed at his warning. "**_Who do you think you are to believe you can demand anything from royalty? Beggars have no right to make demands out of kings._**"

Shepard gritted his teeth in frustation; he knew the Queen was dangerous, if he were facing any other person he would have taken the shot by now. If only her current appearance wasn't too disstresing to his mental health, he really was not of the mind of shooting children, even if it was just a disguise. "Listen, I really don't want to fight you, just let us through and we'll be out your hair and you'll never have to see us again, I promise. We just want to reach Alice in time."

The Queen still didn't intend to let them through her lands, however. "**_It always has to come down to that girl. You're not the first one who has tried to take control over her; she's always been weak of character you know, always unable to do what needs to be done to deal with the likes of you, always letting the meddling of deceivers like you to put wonderland very existence at risk. No, I would not let your prescence to put my kingdom in danger._**" She said before resuming her attack.

Shepard had to jump sideways to avoid being squashed. "No! You have it all wrong; I just want to help Alice before something happens to her."

But the Queen was uncaring of his words. "**_Silence, cur! I have enough of your lies!"_**

8 tentacles ramed at Shepard, who instead of trying to dodge away, faced them head on so he could keep moving forward without losing momentum. He, somehow, miraculosly managed to avoid them all by lunging low. Rolling up the steps and getting back up again, Shepard raced towards the diminutive form of the Queen sitting in her throne. She tried to swat him aside with another tentacle but the commander tackled the appendice directly and managed to break through it with his shoulder. Just when he was at arm's length of the Queen, the little child tried to rend him with her claws, her mouth opening to an impossible length showing a long serrated line of sharp teeth to form a horrible snarl that depicted all the Queen's outrage and madness.

Shepard recoiled at the last moment and was able to dodge the claws by mere milimeters; he then lunged at the Queen, slaming her on her own throne, put an armored arm pressing over her ribcage and with the other, casually rested the barrel of his Phalanx underneath her chin. It caused her deformed mouth to close and return to her original size in record time, a look of utter shock and surprise briefly etched on her face.

The Queen squinted her eyes and began looking at Shepard with pure unadultered hatred. "**_How dare you lay a hand on me, release me in this instant or…_**"

"Shut up!" Shepard interrupted her mid-tirade.

The Queen was so flabbergasted by that response, since no one in her entire life had been stupid or suicidal enough to say something so crass to her face, that she found herself unable to speak for a few seconds. Eventually, her rage and madness seeped back into her demeanour. "**_What did you just said!?_**"

"I said, shut up!" Shepard replied, slaming her against her throne again to reinforce his point. "Now that I have your attention, I will say this only once. Let us through your domain and no one will get hurt. I have no interest about you or your kingdom, all I care about is reaching Alice before something happens to her."

The Queen sneered at him. "**_You think you can fool me with your false concern? You say you care about that girl, but we both know you only want her for her abilities; After all you are a man on a mission, are you not? Is always the same story, someone like you aproaches her under the guise of false friendship when in reality all you want is to take total control over her life to do with her whatever you may want. Many have found her childish looks and petite frame to be desirable after all._**"

Shepard felt disgusted by what that acussation implied. "That is not true."

"**_Is it not?_**" The queen said with both disdain and skepticism. "**_For what reason would you care for that girl then, other than because her gifts or looks?_**"

"You are wrong; I know her skills have the potential to be irrepleacable for this team and my mission. But I don't need to control her to achieve my goals; In fact! I don't care to control her! I don't want to control her; all I want to do is unleash her. To set her free and then kick back and enjoy the show; But yes there is a matter of control to adress, but is not from me but from Alice. She is the one that has to be in control, control of herself, and I'm going to make sure she learns how to be in control of her own mind." Shepard said staring intently at the eyes of the Queen, remembering Dream's warning. Both he and the Queen locked themselves on a staring content, each one trying to make the other submit to their will. After what it seemed and eternity on their intense battle of wills, the Queen tilted her head to a side in what could only be described as curiousness and a tiny but grudgungly smudge of respect towards Shepard.

"**_Mmmmph. You are the most odd human I've ever seen, you're the first person who honestly dosen't want to hold control over Alice. But regardless, she and I are not in the best of terms, maybe no longer hostile, but certainly not friendly either. And the objective you wish to achieve can only mean the lost of more of my power to her and I don't intend to submit like a blumbering yes-man withouth complaint. So what do I get for letting you succeed in your mission? What can you do to restitute me from yielding my power to her?_**"

Shepard stared at her impassibly for a moment before tentatively and measurably, giving an answer. "If I recall correctly, you actually have no say in the matter. I remember that in the second book that tells about Alice second trip to wonderland, she completed a series of tests that allowed her to become the Queen of all Wonderland. So you really have no choice in the matter, you must step aside and grant your power and aid to she who is your rightfull ruler, even if you don't want to. I'm pretty sure you're oath bound to do so and considering how things can turn quite lethal in this place at a moment's notice, I don't think is in your best interests to refuse."

Shepard was not surprised that the Queen's expression showed a look of impotent fury for just a moment. Now it was more than obvious for both of them that he had her cornered in more ways than one, but Shepard, showing a bit of leeway, decided to toss her a bone sort of speak.

"However, I'm sure I can find some way to swetten the deal a bit. I know the inhabitans of wonderland can go and interact with the real world if they want, otherwise we wouldn't had been able to speak with Chesire after Alice went back to her time. And I know it would be fairly easy for you to make the Cat tell you how to do it yourself, so if you were to lend us your aid and help us, me and Alice, with my mission. I'll promise you you'll have all the chances you'd want to seate your bloodlust. I guaranted you'll have free reing to increase your head collection as much as you want."

"**_You are trying to buy my help through blatant bribery?_**" The Queen said in a tone that could pass as both incredulous and amused. "**_Not the most sophisticated of methods, but neither an undesired one. Very well, in exchange for my aid you will promise me all the heads I can collect to my heart's content._**"

Shepard shifted his feet a little. "Well yes, but with some restrictions. You can only do it while we are in combat; I don't want you to go all bloodthirsty in the middle of important population centers, because that will cause me more trouble than it is worth. But yeah, when we found ourselves in combat and under fire, you're free to go to town all you want."

For a moment, the Queen of hearts had a far-away look on her face, obviously considering the pros and cons of the deal. In the end she accepted. "**_I accept your terms._**" She made a motion with her hand and the entire room started to vibrate and rumble, entire sections of walls switched their positions and an arc formed behind the Queen's throne, providing a new exit from the room. "**_But I expected you to fullfill your side of the bargain much to my satisfaction, otherwise the consequences for failure would be very unpleasant. Are we clear?_**"

"Crystal" was Shepard reply which made the Queen to give him an odd look. Shepard holstered his weapon and stepped down from the dais of her throne, his teammates joining him shortly.

The Queen made a motion with her hand, and the walls of the room began to move and switch from place, revealing a new exit where the Queen was pointing at. "**_Just go through this passage and you'll find yourself on the other side of my lands. Keep walking in this direction to reach Londerland, the place where Wonderland mingled with several aspects of that wretched city where Alice lives. There you should go down to the subway and exit through the other side to reach your destination. Now leave, I grow tired of your prescence._**"

"Thanks…" Shepard said, he turned to his companions. "Ok, team. Time to go, we have wasted enough time already." He then went inside the newly formed exit withouth even bothering to look back at them. The team followed him promptly, being uncharacteristically meek and quit because of their recent battle. Especially Grunt, who was nursing his wounded pride while his body healed the other physical injuries inflicted upon his person.

* * *

><p><em>Well that's it for now folks. Next time we will deal with the rescue operation of Alice. Should count as her recruitment mission now that I think of it, anyway. Until next time.<em>


	23. Not as good as the TARDIS but it'll do

**Author's note: **Wazzup, fools. After several months I finally managed to update the next chapter of this story. Truth to be told I been rather busy these last months, not with dealing with the banal issues of my life, but with working on my stories. As I had said I been having ideas for new stories and I've been working on those stories, but because I'm focused in these other stories my other works get a bit neglected.

Is something I wasn't expecting but it happened, I start small but then I keep writing and writing and writing and before I know months have passed, the stories have become quite long and I'm still not yet satisfied with them but I have to leave them to attend the others.

Why just now in June I started writing a Sailor Moon story during the whole month, is now pushing beyond the 40 pages in length yet I still not satisfied with it and I had to put it in hold to write this chapter since I realized it's been too long since I last update it. It was a good thing that I took some vacations in these last 2 weeks since it helped me to focus a little on this chapter, but that's another thing.

Now, people been bichin' me about the way I wrote my other story The Wild Dovakhiin, even though I specifically stated it was not a serious work, but just some stupid drabble to give an outlet to inane and moronic ideas. But people still didn't liked the way I wrote it, seriously, if I didn't considered it to be a serious work then why would I put any kind of effort behind its writing? I mean if I were too focus on that then I would have to neglect even more other stories like this one or the fist of the war star.

But anyway, that story has been taken out so it's a moot point now. I'm gonna have to change the writing style and upload it again, but I still will make it in the most basic and succinct way I can. But I'm going to do that _Later _when I feel like it; right now I'm more focused on other projects. In the mean time, you can read this new chapter and tell me what you think.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 20<strong>

**NOT AS GOOD AS THE TARDIS BUT IT'LL DO**

Shepard and his team arrived at the place that the Queen had called Londerland, looking around their surroundings most of the ground team got the certainty that they were very close to their destination. The entire place looked like a fusion between wonderland and XIX century London, Old Victorian style buildings were mixed with a jungle of giant plants and toadstools, a cobblestone street running through the middle with teapots lined at its sides, these and more other things were some of the sights that the ground team discovered in this new location.

"Well… I believe we are getting close. Does anyone see something that may tell us how to get to Alice's time, a gateway or something?" Shepard said to the team while looking around.

"There's a train station over there" Miranda replied, pointing at the entrance of said building. "Maybe there is another train that can take us to our destination like last time?"

"Let's hope it's a normal train this time" Jacob commented in a deadpan tone.

Jack snapped an immediate response at that comment. "What are you crying about, you fucking pussy? That train was pretty damn cool. Shit! If only most transports were as awesome as that train, I would be happy enough most of the time as to not kill every annoying fucker that gets on my way."

With that said, the ground team went on its way. They descended the stairs leading inside the train station only to found the place rather abandoned, it didn't seem as if a train would be passing by any time soon.

"It looks like this is a dead end." Said Kasumi looking over the empty tracks.

However, the commander wasn't of the same idea. He caught a strange glimmer coming from the end of one of the tunnels that went in the direction of the Central. "I don't think so, there is something over there." he pointed towards inside the tunnel, the rest of the team soon caught notice of the same strange glimmer.

"What is that?" Asked Garrus with curiosity.

"I don't know." Shepard replied truthfully. "But it might be a good idea to check it out; I don't think we are in danger of being attacked, but keep your eyes open just in case." He said lifting his Mattock and began to cautiosly approach towards the strange lights.

The team moved carefully depper inside the tunnel, with each step they took their vision became dimmer and dimmer, until nothing but total blackness enveloped them with the only source of illumination coming from the probervial light at the end of the tunnel. Despite this Shepard and his companions pressed on.

Finally after almost 15 minutes of stumbling through the darkness, they reached the other side of the tunnel, only for all the members of the ground team to find themselves inside the wide and spacious vault that comprised the train station main central. The place looked closed and empty. Strange enough, there was no trace of anything related to wonderland's influence in this place, it appeared pretty normal and mundane, no sight of anything strange or bizarre.

"Everything seems pretty normal to me, no sight of anything strange yet." Said Garrus, peering at his surroundings with his weapon at the ready.

"Well, now what!?" Jack blurted with a hint of impatience.

"We go through the front door." Said Shepard, pointing at the main entrance of the Central that would surely take them back outside.

The team went through the double doors and found themselves on an empty, dirty street covered in a thick mist. There was no indication of wonderland anywhere just a regular street that looked brought out straight from the Victorian era. Shepard's teammates were left looking at their surroundings in wonder trying to discern where they had ended up.

"Are we still in wonderland?" Asked Miranda peering at her surroundings.

"I'm really not sure." Shepard confessed honestly, glancing around. "We should get off the streets in any case. I have the feeling is a bad idea to be lying in the open like this."

The entire group followed that advice and scurried into a nearby alley. While they took a moment to gather their bearings, they were greeted from behind by a voiced that by now they knew pretty well, enough as to sometimes even hate. "Allow me to be the first one to welcome you all to London. I'll admit the sights are not the most remarkable, though you seem to have no trouble in finding the more glamorous places."

The entire team snapped their necks so fast, that they almost ran the danger of causing themselves whiplash, to look at the smug grin of Cheshire sitting atop a trash can. Shepard had to resist a sigh at the sight of him. "Ack, it's you… What do you want?"

The ever-smiling cat tilted his head to a side and gave the commander an odd blink wth his eyes. "You know, I think you and Alice have spent too much around each other. I can see you're starting to pick on her mannerisms. That answer would have been so like her…" he commented absentmindedly.

Shepard rolled his eyes, uncaringly. "Yeah, considering we can now relate with what she must feel every time she has to tolerate your shenanigans, I'm not surprised. But back to the matter at hand, why are you here?"

The cat just took a pose of faux-indignation before replying. "I was just here to point you in the right direction in this last trek of your journey, for your information. We can ill afford for you to be stumbling around blindly through London's underworld without knowing where to go, not when time is a costly commodity that we can hardly spare. Alice will not last under her captors for long."

That last tidbit was enough to ensare Shepard's interest. "What do you mean by that!? It's Alice really in danger?" He asked with urgency.

The cat gave him a nod. "Yes, your initial concerns were right on the spot. Alice is currently in grave danger; if we are not quick she will surely be subjected to great torture. Had you not pressed so adamantly for an incursion in wonderland to search for her, we wouldn't have the chance to bail her out. The timing of your arrival is very fortuitous, indeed."

Shepard, immediately, was all bussiness as he fulminated the cat with a stare. "Talk, now."

"She has been carted towards Rutledge, a nasty run-down asylum, were the people in charge make a mockery of their oath to heal the downtroden and instead take great pleasure in inflicting untold pain on them. I guess I have no need to explain you why is imperative to spirit her away as far as we can."

The commander gave him a stiff nod, his countenance grim. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>Alice squirmed aggressively, testing her bonds. She had been put inside a straight jacket and confined into a special pushcart designed to transport dangerous patients, her mouth covered by a leather mask because she had already proven to have quite the bite when they captured her. On her way to being transported to her new dwellings, she was confronted by an old acquaintance.<p>

"Alice? I had a foolish hope that I would never have to see you again within these walls, but sadly I knew within my heart that you'd be back inside this place, with me."

"Doctor Wilson…" Alice said in an even dry tone, staring plainly towards the senior psychiatrist. "You look… older…"

The grizzled old man let out an amused chuckle. "And you look more spritely than the last time you were in here… Despite meeting you again in these unfortunate circumstances, it's good to see you in relatively good health. Tell me Alice, have you had any more deliriums about Wonderland?" he asked with a pointed look.

Alice replied with an uncaring shrug. "They come and go as they please from time to time, it's not like I have control over what is going on inside my head, never had. But I've learned to ignore them most of the time, although I tend to wonder about the wisdom of ignoring the voices inside my head, since they are supposed to be the representations of my inner thoughts and desires. So sometimes I listen when they come up with a particular good advice, even though they can be pretty annoying most of the time, so all in all I've been getting by pretty well without much complaint until recently. But I don't have to tell you about that, I'm pretty sure you must be well informed of the reason why I'm back in here again."

"Quite." Doctor Wilson replied, straightening his glasses over his eyes. "I think I should book a session with you for tomorrow to discuss more about the voices inside your head."

"So eager to begin with the torture, I see. Bring it on then! You couldn't break me when I was at my weakest. You will not do so, now that I'm the master of my faculties." Alice bellowed in challenge.

The old doctor tried to motion her to be calm. "Peace, Alice. I know of the stigma that surrounds my profession, ignorant slander to please the wishes of the massess. Very few can truly comprehend the intrinsecs of the mind and few less know how to treat its illness. I'll admit some of our most revolutionary methods are rather extreme, but they are all applied with the wellbeing of the patient in mind."

Alice scoffed in derision. "Please! Spare me your justifications, how about next time I'm appointed for the shock therapy you trade places with me and then tell me how it feels? Luckily for me, the '_therapy'_ is useless on my person, but for you I'm sure it will be quite the enlightening experience."

"My, you've developed quite the mouth since your last stay. At the very least, this will prove a more interesting experience from your previous interment. In the meantime, you should hurry up to processing, we still need to take proper inventory of your belongings and hold unto any item deemed detrimental for your stay. After that we'll proceed to take you to your room, I'm sure you'll appreciate we have made your old cell available to you." Doctor Wilson then addressed the orderlies pushing Alice's trolley. "Gentlemen, I'll leave you to it." Before stroding off.

* * *

><p>Shepard and his team were quietly moving down a ditch at the side of a road, the misty hills of the British landscape helping further in concealing their presence from prying eyes, Cheshire was at the lead of the column, guiding the ground team through seldom traveled roads towards their destination.<p>

As the cat had promised, he was leading the group in the direction where the Asylum, were Alice was being held, was located. He had informed them that the horrid place stood in a solitary hill in the countryside close to London, so the cat took the group through the alleyways and desolated streets of the poor part of town to avoid unwanted attention, until they reached the outskirts of the city. From there it was only a matter of following the right road towards the Asylum, they didn't even had to worry much about finding a way to traverse through the open withouth being spotted. Thankfully, the roads of Brittain are flanked by thick shrubbery and ditches on the sides, making the matter of moving unseen a non-issue; the tall hills, signature of the British landscape and the heavy mist, common in these lands, only helped further in covering the ground team movements.

Eventually, after almost two hours of walking by foot, Shepard's teammates were finally able to divise the silhouette of Rutledge Asylum instanding atop a lonely broken hill; an old wall with iron spikes in the top surrounded the precint through the base of the hill.

"Here we are at last!" Said Cheshire merrily, while gesturing to the old rundown facility. "Feast your eyes at the premier institution to treat the afflictions of the mind. The only place where torture can be considered a treatment for healing… Quite the cherry place isn't it?"

Shepard stopped for a moment to gaze at the old residence; he got a sudden feeling of unease when he laid his eyes over the old and decrepit façade of the building. There was no sign of life that could be discerned through its stained windows, it seemed as if the asylum itself sucked the light and warmth from the world all around it, and leaved nothing but a coldness that could chill your very bones. Shepard didn't need anyone to tell him that this was not a good place to be in.

"This is where Alice is held!?" he exclaimed with apprehension. He turned towards the cat "Tell me how to get her out of there!?"

The cat tilted his head at a side, that ever present smile of his made anyone who was looking think he was amused. "Well, the quickest route would be simply to barge through the front doors and force your way in. But since I think that you would prefer a more stealthy approach, there's a way to gain access through the back. I use to keep an eye on Alice duing her last stay by posing as a regular cat, and I spent quite a bit of time exploring the Asylum's every nook and cranny. Anyway, the wall over there is falling a part in some sections, so it should be easy for your entire group to enter the compound. We'll have to surround the hill, of course, but I expect no obstacle to stand in our way"

Shepard nooded at the cat's explanation. "Very well, show us." He gestured before the cat led them to their destination.

As promised, there was a section of the wall that clearly showed it had seen much better days. Entire bricks were missing or had crumbled down from the wall, more than enough to gain a decent footing if one decided to climb their way inside, the metal fence at the top was rusted, broken and dented, allowing a full growth adult to squezze his way in withouth much trouble. Entering through this section of the wall lead into a service entrance that bordered the courtyard where the patients were brought outside to take some fresh air. The place was deserted for the moment, so the entire team was able to infiltrate the Asylum without raising any alarm.

The only problem was Grunt since his bulk was too much for that small opening and Shepard has never heard if Krogans are any good at climbing. The young tank-breed didn't care and he practically broke his way through the small opening in the wall and almost brought the entire thing down, despite most of the ground team telling him to stop and remain behind. Luckily, his small ruckus didn't brought any attention to themselves and were able to continue their little infiltration undetected through a nearby service entrance that was nothing more and a big moving slab of metal.

Peering inside through the door, Shepard had a nice view of an empty hallway, the place didn't look to be in optimal conditions, there was grime and stains in its once white walls, and the tiles of the floor looked dirty as if only half-washed. Suddenly an orderlie, who looked more like a thug rather than an aide, came from down the hallway carrying a stack of keys and opened a nearby room, which seemed to be a broom's closet. With the burly man giving the back to him, Shepard moved in quickly and knocked him out by butting him in the head with his Mattock before hiding the body in the closet and taking the stack of keys from him.

His team followed him inside and he turned to adress the cat. "Where to, now?"

The ever-smiling cat brought a blood-stained claw to his chin in thought. "Well, we could try to move through the Therapy rooms if you wish to remain undetected, they are connected between each other and run through the entire length of this wing. We need to reach the room for experimental Theraphy since that one connects with the left wing where the new immate—I mean, patients, are processed before being assigned to a cell. That is also the place where the storage for the patients' belongings is located, alongside the file cabinets where the patients' files and medical records are kept."

"Then it seems we have our next objective." Shepard remarked ready to move on.

"I really don't care where we are going at this point. Anywhere will be a much better improvement than this place." Kasumi commented, stealing glances at the end of the deserted hallway, screams of ravening madness, unbearable pain and suffering resonating all around the place.

"I agree with the chinese girl!" Jack said, looking at her surroundings with unease. She didn't take notice of the glare that Kasumi tossed at her for mistaking her nationality. "Let's get this done quickly; this place makes me remember a lot of bad memories."

The group entered in the nearest Therapy room and began to make its way towards experimental therapy through the interconnected rooms. On each room they found new and diverse implements that would not look odd inside a dungeon, tools and machines that appeared to be made to incflict pain rather than heal. Shepard didn't want to think how many of these horrible things Alice had to endure; the mere thought of it brought a lump to his throath and a cold rage to bubble inside him.

The tension kept building up to unbearable levels with each passing room that, by the time, the team reached the Therapy shock room and found a patient strapped on a electric chair, with his head covered by a black bag, bellowing such horrible screams of agony while jerking uncontrolably due to several hundred volts running through his body and a _Doctor _watching uncaringly to the torture he was commiting while taking notes with a seemingly bored expression. Shepard just couldn't take it anymore and knocked down the so called doctor with a blow to the back of his head with the butt of his Mattock before cutting off the electric current, sparing the poor wretched bastard from his torment who released a long sigh of grateful relief before slumping on his chair, totally drained by the who-knows-how-long torture he had to endure. Most of the ground team was grim at what they had witnessed.

"This is such a sick place." Garrus said shaking his head in disgust. "It reminds me of the crime scenes I had to process while I was pursuing Doctor Malleon."

"Agreed." Shepard said opening the way to the next room. "It's a shame we can't do anything about it, lest we change the future for messing up with the past. If it was up to me I'd shut this place down immediatly."

Chesire tilted his head at a side to give the commander an odd look. "And what's stopping you from doing so? Truly, there's no need to fear any consequence that may arise from erradicating this place. I doubt its continual existence or that of the lives of its staff would have any major relevance in the overall grand scheme of things. On the contrary, you would be doing the world a favor for getting rid of this place. And even if there are any repercussions from shutting down the Asylum, I'm pretty sure it will just serve to make your own era even more interesting." He finished beaming a smile that was outright disturbing because it exposed his bloodstained fangs and encias for all to see.

Shepard didn't even bother to look back at the grinning feline. "I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain to you why taking the risk of creating paradoxes by changing past is a bad idea. Let's just move on, okay?" he said before moving forwards on the next room, only to find a pretty horrid sight.

This last room was something right out a horror movie, the walls were splattered with marks of a faded rusty brown –probably blood- as if someone had done a poor job to wash them out, there was a single chair bolted to the floor in the middle of the room where to strap the patients, at one side of the chair there was a long table with its entire surface lined with pointy, sharp and creepy looking instruments, and on the floor, there was a long faded red stain where the blood had flushed down the drain. This was certainly, no place of healing.

"Damn! This reminds me of my time inside a Batarian prision." Zaeed said after taking a look at the place.

Kasumi was green at the sight of the room. "Oh, dear god. It's a good thing I didn't had lunch, otherwise I would be returning it right now." She said, hunching down with labored breath.

Shepard was appealed at what he was seeing. "What is this place!?" He asked in shock.

It was Cheshire who answered him in his usual demeneaor. "This, my dear commander, is experimental therapy, where the brilliants and brightest of minds find new ways to cause all manner of suffering in the name of science. Oh! The screams that have come out of this place, truly have created some symphonies like no others." As to bring his point home, a series of pained screams coming from somewhere in the asylum began to resonate throught the place.

"Ah! The Asylum!" The emaciated cat announced with the chorus of distant screams still ringing loudly. "The only place that can produce such mournful song, I have not heard it since when Alice was a resident." The cat watched Miranda from the corner of his eye as she observed the dull red stains ont the walls before continuing in a laconic tone. "You know, these new procedures being developed in here can be quite the handful. Lobotomies for example, are terribly messy bussiness after all." Miranda jerked away form the wall and glared at the cat as his creepy laughs filled the air.

"Rustic methods of research, so inefficient." Mordin piped in while studying all the medical tools in the table. ":Sniff: Cause uneccesary pain to the patient and have a high risk of endangering his life. Methods are quite messy too; many subjects require to be sacrificed in order to obtain even a small measure of progress for your research. Don't like it personally, quite unprofessional actually, moral dilemmas aside."

Shepard just gave the Salarian scientist a blank look before adressing back to the crew. "Right, that is enough people! We've wasted enough time already. Let's find Alice and get her out of here before someone decides to put her in one of this chairs." Seeing no complain from his companions, the commander moved forward throught the doors that connected with the left wing.

As they surveyed this new corridor, a scream at the other end of the hallway draw their attention. The whole team immediately rushed towards the source of the noise to investigate. As the team was about to reach the door were the scream had come from, they were stopped cold in their tracks when the door slammed open and the body of a big, burly orderly went flying through the air in front of them and crashed into the wall in a broken bloodied mess. They turned around to the now open door to find another shorter orderly, that was just as ugly as the one they just saw flying except he had bandages around his left bicep and a nasty slash bleeding profousely on his face, running at them with an expression of total fear and desperation.

"HELP! HELP! BY GOD, SUMBUDY' HELP ME. SHEE'Z A DIMON'!" The burly man couldn't said anything else, as a sound of snicker-snack rang through the air and a flash of steel with a trail of red and black, separated his head from the rest of his body in a shower of blood that stained the faces of the ground team members that were on the front row, namely Shepard, Miranda and Garrus.

When the body of the man dropped to the floor, the entire ground team could see Alice with her face and dress covered in droplets of blood, staring at the corpse of the burly man with absolute contempt. She then caught sight of the commander and the others and her mood did a complete 360, turning into absolute happiness. "Commander! Fancy meeting you here! I didn't know you could visit me as my acquantainces from wonderland do sometimes when they are bored. So, what brings you to this place? I can't think of anything that would make you want to visit this Asylum. Only a mad person would be able to endure this place and those who aren't would soon turn mad anyway trying to survive the horrors of the Asylum."

Shepard just stared at the young girl, covered in blood, dumbly; his mind needing a few moments to rebbot itself before speaking again. "Well, Cheshire went and informed us that you were in trouble, so we used your key to enter wonderland and find a way through there to reach you in time and get you out of danger."

"You went through my wonderland to try to rescue me." Alice asked in genuine surprise as this is the first time someone mounted a rescue effort to help her out, even though she dosen't really need it as she is more than able to get herself out of trouble on her own, it's the thought that counts. "Well, as you can see, I'm in well perfect health. I appreciate the gesture but it wasn't actually really needed."

Jack wasn't happy with this latest development and let her annoyance be known. "So we came all the way here for nothing! We had to travel through all of wonderland to get here; it was an unbelievable pain in the ass. The land was broken, there were no roads, and we had to endure the annoying monologues of the fucking queen of hearts. And in the end, all of that amounted to nothing! Fuck! I knew we shouldn't have bothered in the first place!"

Alice mood went down a little at hearing Jack's words. "I'm sorry if I made you worry about my sake needlessly. It wasn't my intention to cause you any trouble."

Shepard tried to appease the rising emotions diplomatically. "Easy, it's not Alice's fault. If anything, I would blame Cheshire for making us worry unnecessarily." Said cat just huffed. "In any case, Alice I'm glad to see you ok. In hindsight, I shouldn't really have worried too much. I mean, if your powers are enough to open a gateway to travel safely through time, then it stands to reason that a few thugs should pose no trouble for you."

Shepard's reasonings did nothing to reassure Alice in the least; if anything, they incommoded her more. "Actually commander… I had forgotten that I could use my powers in the physical world, and it's not as if I have total control over them. The first time I realized I could manifest them was when I was under a lot of stress while I confronted the man who raped and murdered my sister and killed my parents when he burned our house down trying to hide all evidence of his deed. That was the only occasion when I used them, and during these last six months there hasn't been a single time were I had need of them, so eventually I forgot all about them." Her face then turned into a sneer of disgust as she began to glare at the corpse lying at their feet. "It was only now, when I was about to be… taken advantage by these brutes, that my powers began acting up again."

Shepard's demeanor turned deadly serious at that last part. "What do you mean by being taken advantage of…?"

The girl stared at him straight to the eyes with a haunted look. "I think I don't need to elaborate much in my explanation. I'll just say, that I've been told I'm pretty sweet on the eyes, and these blockheads thought me pretty defenseless while I was restrained by my bonds. Make of that what you will…"

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_Alice was still trying to find a way out of her bindings, after she was _

_The doors of the room suddenly opened, revealing the dreadful and hated nephews of the superintendent. They seem not in their greatest of health after their last encounter a few hours ago. The biggest was sporting a bandage over his eye where she slashed at, and the shortest had his entire left upper body wrapped in bandages and his arm over a cast. They most probably were here to repay her for the little gifts she gave them._

"_Oi! Look at wha' d' loony cart brot' in brotha'. If it isn't d' lil' hussy we been wantin' to have a word wit'? Seems she's on a bit ova' bind, isn't brotha'" The smaller of the two asked to his bigger sibling._

"_Aye, it does seems dat' way bro'. We should take d' oppo'tunity to pay her back fo' sendin' us to d' doctor." Said the giant of a brute._

"_Don't remind me o' dat' bro'. Dese' stitches o' mine dat' dey' gave me 'ave been itchin' eve' since we left d' doc. It costs us quite d' pretty penny, she has to pay us back fo' dose' bills." The little one replied with a grimace._

"_Wha' if she has no money? She dosen't look to 'ave 'nything else but d' clothes on her back." The big brute asked, scratching the top of his ugly face._

_The smaller of the brothers grinned malevolently at that question. "Den' I'm sure dere' are othe' ways we can collect wha' she owes us, and guess wha'? She would need no clothes fo' dat'."_

_Alice was outright furious at those comments, she trashed in her bonds violently trying to lash out. She wasn't just going to stand there withouth doing nothing while these two neandertals casually discussed how they were going to violate her. "Why don't you come closer and tell that to my face, you dumb ape? So this how you can only fight against a little girl like me then, only willing to act on your disgusting desires when I'm tied and helpless in these bonds? Why don't you get me out of this jacket and let's see if you try anything, I'll make sure they give you new stitches to match the ones you already have! C'mon, do it! Or are you afraid of little ol' me?"_

_The ugly thug was unnerved for just a moment at the idea of facing the girl again, their last encounter still fresh on his mind. He snapped out of it and his evil grin returned. "Nah! I think I like ya' just fane dis' way. I can do wat I want without interruptions. Feel free to scream if ya' want, we have all d' time in da' world, nurse Cratchet helped us makin' sure of dat'" He said wantonly, walking close to her with an arrogant air. He roamed his eyes over her body, before lifting up her skirt and touching her in her inner thight._

_Alice's mind was raging, how this disgusting piece of filth dared to touch her? She hasn't felt this outraged ever since she confronted Bumby over the death of her family. Thinking of that despicable man only made her ire to increase, he is the reason why her life was destroyed, he is the one behind all the disgraces that had befallen her since that fatidic day. Her future, her family, taken away from her by that criminal trying to hide the evidence of his deeds, the rape and murder of her sister, her dear Lizzie. To think that all these tragedies were the result of a pathetic little man who only wanted to sattisfy his basic insticts, just like the two blockheads in front of her now._

_She will not! Become a helpless victim! They think they can take advantage of her! Her! Deadliest and scarier foes than them have tried and they all failed, bumby too had tried to break her and in the end, it was her who came out victorious and punished him for his crimes. These two fools will suffer the same fate as him!_

_At the height of her frenzy, Alice didn't noticed when she bursted out of her bindings, she had unconciously exerted her will upon reality and manifested the powers of wonderland upon the material world. She exploded in a flurry of butterflies, that left her would be rapists flabbergasted at such unexpected development, once she reformed herself outside of her bindings, she found herself donning her usual dress and apron she wears during her outings into wonderland. Alice stood for just a moment in confusion, taking notice of what she had done. She was pulled out of her musings by the terrified yells of her former accoster._

"_Wha' witchery is dis'!?" Exclaimed the squat ugly man after seeing Alice's impossible feat._

_Said girl just replied with a sinister smile of her own. "Oh? It seems the odds have become even now." She said before swinging her arm at the short ugly man. A sound of snicker-snack echoed through the room and a slash was marked in the face of the ugly thug, bleeding profousely. The squat burly man screamed, bringing both hands to his face to stop the bleeding and stumbled to a side trying to get away from the girl._

_His bigger brother could only look in alarm. "Bro'! YA' WITCH! Git away fro' him!" he bellowed at her with anxiety before rushing at her with aggression._

_Alice did not move and simply scrounged her face in an expression of disgust at the taller thug. "Stand aside! I'm not in the mood to be dealing with the likes of you." She said with disdain, swinging at the giant man, the deafening sound of a whining horse filled the room for a moment, a cloud of smoke and fire suddenly appeared out of nowhere and struck the giant ugly thug in full, sending him flying through the main doors and out of the room._

_Alice released a sigh of satisfaction as she hefted the flamming warhammer in the shape of a horse, currently on her hands, over one of her shoulders. A weapon that had repleaced her old hobby horse… The Knightmare. The smaller of the brothers, terrified at her display of unreal strength and esoteric abilities, fled out of the room screaming in terror. Alice just let out a sadistic smirk before pursuing. _

* * *

><p>Shepard looked over the girl with outmust grim seriousness, before speaking. "I think it would be a good idea to get you out of here right now." Miranda and Kasumi, being part of the female minority of the group, look at Alice horrified. Jack simply scowled and took a glance at the dead bodies before exclaiming, "Good riddance".<p>

Alice replied with a nod. "I couldn't agree more. Thanks for coming for me, at least. You're one of the few people that have ever shown real concern for me. Let us leave this horrible place; I'm of the mind of burning it to the ground. But first, I need to recover my belongings."

"Do you know where they are holding them?" asked Shepard pointedly.

It was Chesire who replied. "I do. This way, if you please." He motioned with one of his paws.

The group proceeded to follow the cat, but from around the corner a nurse appeared into the hallway, right in the middle of the ground team's path. She was old, short, and fat, with small beady eyes on her gnarled face, one of those eyes was swollen with scratch marks all over it. She looked like some bloated ugly frog. "What's all this racket? Can't you two brutes keep it quiet! When I told you idiots you could deal with Alice without worrying about the noise, I didn't mean it for you to try to bring down all the goddamn asylum." The fat ugly woman stopped on her tracks when she caught sight of Alice. "Alice! I should have known this was your work! Wait!? Where are those idiots!? And who are these freaks!? How did they got in here!?" She demanded after becoming aware of Shepard and the others.

Alice just smiled with deceiving happiness. "Nurse, Cratchet! You don't know how happy I am to see you!" She said before her flaming peeper grinder appeared in her hands and she opened fire upon the disgusting nurse, showering her in hot lead and splattering her blood throughout the hallway.

"Well, now that's settled, let's move on." Alice said, holstering her weapon with satisfaction.

The rest of the ground team, just stared at her callous ruthlessness. "Alice, why did you killed that woman!?" The commander asked, mildly disturbed and worried about her state of mind.

Alice once more looked at him severely. "Let's just say she was the hand that was holding the leash behind these two brutes. In any case, we should move on, I still need to get my things back." She said before moving after Cheshire.

They quickly found the right room thanks to Cheshire's lead, Alice unceremoniously kicked the door open, not bothering to check if it was locked or not, she was in a hurry after all. She quickly searched through the stands and cabinets until she found her clothes and belongings.

She turned at the commander and the rest of the team. "I need to change back into my clothes, so you'll have to excuse me for a moment. If you were so kind as to step outside..." The commander did so. "Thanks! And no peeking!" she said before shutting the door on his face.

After a few minutes Alice stepped out again, looking exactly the same... "I thought you said you were going to change your clothes?" asked Shepard confused.

"I did. Oh! You think these are my real clothes? No-oh, whatever outfit I may be wearing at the time, it always changes into this dress every time I activate my powers or go to wonderland." Alice's dress flicked for just a second, revealing another set of clothes under the illusion but it came too fast that no one from the ground team could discern what they saw, before Alice was back into her usual blue dress and apron. "See...?"

Shepard nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well, let's keep moving then."

They were about to go in search of an exit, when suddenly a couple of orderlies walked into the hallway, they were momentarily stunned in their places, confusion droving them into inaction as they were utterly perplexed after stumbling upon the ground team and their odd members and equipment. More than enough time for Jack to struck them both with a Biotic blast, the impact sending them both collapsing into a wall.

"Jack! Why you did that for!?" Shepard scolded at the bald woman.

"What!? The little princess has already killed motherfuckers on her own! Why can't I do that too!? I'm sick of having to play nice; I've been pissed at everything since we went through the damn Queensland. I need to kick some ass!" Replied the ex-convict in annoyance.

Shepard just gave her a frown, but before a confrontation between the two could ensue, Alice intervened. "I'm with Jack on this Commander. This place is a blight upon the face of the earth, and those who are in charge of this place are no better than scum. It would be better to simply raze it to the ground; I assure you I will not lose any sleep at night over it." She said with finality.

The Commander released a sigh, acknowledging her advice. "Fine, I'll let the issue drop, we have no time to waste after all. I suppose we should try to cover our tracks, very well team, let's bring all these corpses inside the storage room. Zaaed, I'll need one of your incendiary grenades."

The team quickly followed the Commander's instructions, and once the five corpses were inside the file room, he tossed one of Zaeed's incendiary grenades inside and closed the door. Soon smoke began to rise from underneath the door, the entire team knew it was now time to leave.

"Let's go people, double time!" Shepard ordered, before he and the others sprinted back from where they came.

They went back inside Experimental Therapy, none a second later after they closed the doors, the team heard a small stampede of rushing feet and pretty soon a cacophony of desperate yells and urgent orders came from the hallway.

Shepard and Co.- took advantage of the commotion and made their way through the Therapy rooms back to the service entrance, there it was just a matter of going through the big slab of metal that acted as a door and later, through the hole in the wall that Grunt had helped expand, and the entire ground team, plus Alice, finally found themselves outside of the dreary Asylum. From their position, they became aware that the fire must have been run rampant, as thick clouds of smoke were escaping from several windows.

Knowing that they still were not out of the woods yet, the commander led his team into the countryside, away from the growing inferno. Before departing, Alice gave one last look at the burning Asylum, thinking how odd her whole life will completely change again and said change was once more marked by a fire. Looking back to Shepard and the others, she couldn't help but smile a little, believing that maybe this time the change will be for the best.

After leading his team several yards away from the asylum, and into a nearby shrubbery, Shepard commanded them to stop to plan their next move. "This should be far away enough for now. Alice, can you open a gateway into Wonderland? I don't think returning to London will be a good idea."

The girl replied with a shake of her head. "I don't think I can Commander. Wonderland always drags me inside whenever it wants. I have never entered it on my own volition... But maybe if we find a rabbit hole or a looking glass, I could try to force a way in, though I have never tried it before."

"Well that will have to be enough then, I don't think we're going to find any of those things in here, so I guess we're going to have to make our own entrance." He said with determination.

"No need." Cheshire interrupted, drawing all attention to himself. "Wonderland knows of your urgency, so it has taken steps to ensure your safe retrieval. Our escort should be arriving... just about now." He said mimicking the consultation of a watch. Suddenly, a mound of earth was violently expelled away from underneath a tree, and the white rabbit made act of presence appearing from the newly dig hole.

"You're done rescuing Alice from that asylum yet? About time! Come then, we have not a second to waste, the train awaits! You don't want to miss it do you!? Hurry up then!" He said before disappearing back into the hole.

"That's convenient." Kasumi mentioned in a plain tone.

"I only wonder why they could not have dropped us in front of the fucking asylum from the beginning instead of having to walk through all the damn countryside." Jack said in irritation. "But whatever, I'm beyond caring at this point. Let's just go already!"

"Sounds like a plan, Jack." Alice said in agreement. "We better be off, before rabbit starts getting impatient... AAAAAAAAAH!" Her statement was stopped mid-sentence as an outburst of energy detonated suddenly from within her own body, pushing back those close to her and sending Alice to her knees. The Illusion that she wraps around herself every time she travels to wonderland dissipated, revealing the frail and vulnerable girl underneath.

To say that Shepard was surprised at this change of events was an understatement. "Alice, What happened!? Are you alright!? Answer me." He called at the girl in concern.

The young maiden looked up to glance at him, and all the ground team could see her for what she truly was. For there was now nothing that could hide and protect her from the outside world, instead of the young strong-spirited fair-skinned long-haired beauty with an alluring Goth make-up, they saw a small thin frail trembling little girl who was dressed in handed-down clothes, whose skin was sickly pale to an extreme, her eyes were tired as the darkened skin around them seemed to indicate, her disheveled hair only reaching a shoulder length and looked oily and slickly instead of smooth and limp. The most concerning of features was how malnourished she looked, not Cheshire level but still way beyond what could be considered healthy. She looked so small and frail, as if the slightest of breezes could break her, it was most disconcerting to look her like this, almost painful.

"Alice...? What...?"

The girl turned around in fright away from the penetrating gazes of Shepard and the others. She took several anxious and laborious breaths as if she was trying to take the greatest amount of air with each gasp.

Shepard tried to reach her once more and tried to approach her. "Alice...?"

"Don't come near me!" The girl said, drawing herself further away from the commander.

But Shepard pressed on and tried to put a hand on her to turn her around. "Alice please, talk to..."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" The girl yelled, and Shepard felt himself physically being pushed back, the others felt it too, as some invisible energy disturbed the grass and plants around them.

Shepard had no choice but to comply with the girl demands. "It's OK, Alice. I'm not going to hurt you." He said raising his hands in an unthreatening gesture and taking a step back. "If you need a moment, its fine. Take all the time you need."

After a few tense moments, the girl began to calm down and her breathing began to even. Once she was relaxed the Illusion took hold again and she was once more the strong-willed girl in blue dress. She finally stood up and turned around towards the Commander and the others. "I'm fine now. Let's go."

Shepard, obviously didn't think her little breakdown could be classified as fine. "Alice! What the hell did just happened!? What happened to you? What did we just saw?"

"It was nothing. I just felt weak all of a sudden. I'm fine now, no need to worry about me." The girl said, trying to diminish their concerns.

None of the ground team bought that explanation. "I don't think your powers overloading like that could be called nothing. This is not the first time something like this happens. Why do your powers have the tendency of going haywire all of a sudden?" Miranda said with all seriousness.

Alice flinched at that observation. "I don't know..." She turned towards Cheshire." Cat? Why did my powers failed me right now? That never happened to me before on my previous trips to wonderland?"

The cat tilted his head to a side with a thoughtful look for a few moments. "I believe the answer is quite simple, you're overtaxing yourself. You've never had to inflict your will upon the material realm before, and you've been doing just that for extended periods of time as of late. It's no wonder that your powers get all jumbled all of a sudden, especially since how finicky the barriers of wonderland have become these days.

Shepard caught on what the cat was trying to say. "Does this have to with that slip of control that the Morpheus fellow told us she's suffering about?"

"You spoke with the God of dreams too?" Alice asked with great surprise, she hadn't expected the Commander to meet the Dreamweaver too while in her wonderland.

The cat just limited himself to ask Shepard's question. "Most likely, indeed. We need to find a way for Alice to regain control over the new increment of her powers. Otherwise, I'm afraid these little outbursts will just be a small appetizer of things to come."

"That should be something we could worry about later." Interrupted the girl in question, wanting to keep moving on. "Right now she should focus of getting out of here, once we found ourselves on more friendly surroundings, we can take all the time we want on fretting over my powers." She said, dismissing the issue before jumping inside rabbit's hole without a backwards glance. Seeing that keeping complaining about the matter would be useless, the rest of the ground team followed on her footsteps.

They entered through the small gateway back into wonderland, arriving back into a mushroom filled forest. Having already visited a similar place on their last visit, no one of the ground team batted an eyelash at the peculiar oddities around the place. They quickly found a signal that pointed the way into a nearby station to take the looking glass express, and soon enough, they reached the place in question and began to wait for the impressive fortress-train to arrive.

Once more, they witnessed the awe-inducing sight of the train coming into a stop with a storm of smoke and screeching metal. They promptly entered inside the moving fortressed and went in search of a seat. Once more, they found the lord of dreams sitting peacefully by a window while drinking tea. But he looked different from what he appeared a few hours ago. Now instead of being clad fully in a mantle black as night, he was dressed in a set of pearl-white robes, as pale as his skin. His hair too was now white instead of ebony black, and from his neck a big and radiant green emerald hanged from a chain. Obviously, most of the ground team was caught off guard by his new look.

"Lord Morpheus, is that you?" Asked a rather astounded Alice.

"_**Ah! Young Alice." **_Said the master of dreams amicably, setting his teacup down on its plate. _**"It is good to see you again. It's been a long time since I last saw you."**_

Alice shifted on her place mildly uncomfortable. "I guess, I mean I'm sure I haven't paid much attention of what is happening inside my wonderland in the last couple of days. But still, that is quite an extreme change of looks to do in such a short span of time; it might be a bit too much."

"I'll say hours." Shepard said interjecting. "We spoke to him like 6 hours ago before we got you out of the Asylum. And he didn't look like this, damn he even looks younger." He said in mild disbelief.

"_**We've met, Commander, a long time ago." **_Dream said placidly.

Alice scrounged her face in thought, trying to discern what was going on. "I think I understand what you're trying to tell me. This is because my wonderland is turning into a 'soft place' isn't it?"

"_**Indeed Alice. Many years have passed since we last saw each other, as you can see; many changes came along with those years. Though for you and the commander only a few moments seemed to have passed since we last parted ways."**_

Shepard was soberly grave by this news. "These are the effects you were warning us about last time we spoke, isn't it?"

Dream replied with a nod _**"Indeed, this is but a small consequence of the changes taking place on Wonderland. Over time their reach and influence will increase and the consequences will be far more serious than just a simple case of time dilatation."**_

"How much time do we have?" Asked Shepard with utmost seriousness

"_**Hard to tell, these things are not so simple to measure after all. I believe I had told you not to worry too much and that the answer to this problem was just a simple issue of helping Alice train her mind and find her center. That is still true, but you might want to start with Alice's lessons as soon as you can." **_Dream said, before going back to his tea.

"Will do, thanks for the tip anyway. C'mon Alice let's go find our seats and leave the good man to his tea." Said Shepard pulling the girl alone, he had to think what to do to deal with this issue by the time they reach the Normandy.

* * *

><p><em>Well this is it for now, I must say I had forgotten Alice could use her powers in the real world. She uses them in the presence of Bumby at the end of Madness Returns, but since it was just a brief scene the thing simply slipped my mind and only until now I'm able to recall it, hence this chapter was a bit bloody. I just simply wanted to severe Alice's connections to her past and move on with the story.<em>

_Anyway. Now I can fully concentrated in the plot of mass effect, things should run smoothly and fastest from now on, since I can surmise or shorten most of the missions and would only have to be more fully descriptive in some of them. Though curious enough, it will be the down time between missions that would take most of my attention since that's where I will set most of the character development._

_But whatever, I have other stories to write too, my schedule is quite busy just check what I have to deal with._

_Not only I have to write the next chapter of this story but also._

_A new story that I'm developing of Sailor Moon titled. Serenity's Super Duper Hyper Dimensional Vacations.- Stupid name chosen deliberately on purpose, but it's a serious work made with the same effort I put on this one. I just finished reading the sailor moon manga (fucking awesome) so I began to wonder what would happen if these ridiculously powerful magical girls that can destroy planets and galaxies were to go to other universes and start kicking ass. Those who have read the manga know what I'm talking about; Bleach, Naruto? I scoff at those weaklings; they are so over their heads against the full power of Sailor Cosmos, is not even funny. But still there's much work still to be done before I upload this story._

_Also a new story I'm working, inspired by the works of VFSnake. My first Naruto crossover, this one with Saint Seiya. I saw somewhere a story with an awesome premise, what would happen if the god Hades would replace the Kyubi and be sealed inside Naruto. This story didn't implement the premise well and ended up botching any kind of interest I could have for it. But I am Mexican and we know Saint Seiya, we know of the battles of the Saints of Athena against the gods that have a total control over the universe, that have the power to make entire galaxies explode on just the tips of their fingers, that can cut the dimensions apart with just a wave of the hands and eradicate all life on earth but with a single word. So what would happen if the dark god hades were to take over the body of Naruto and decided to make his own version of Eden in the Elemental Nations, just as he tried to do in the Saint Seiya universe, only there's now not Athena or her saints to stop him. _

_Oh, is going to be such a dark story, so much suffering and death that would bring. I would follow the same scheme that VFSnake has done for his own Naruto stories, so it will be a short story, no more than 10 chapters I hope, but I so want to write this, it has me pretty intrigued._

_Also, Madhat886 has giving me the go ahead to use his work on the chapters done in the story Dragon Ball Tenge and take and mess with them to write my own version of it. So this will also take a lot of my attention since it will be the most bigger story I will work yet and the most massive crossover that would probably ever exist. And I'm going to do a lot of work on it would not write about any series unless I have seen it first, gonna do a lot of research, gotta think right well how to intertwine the series with each other, connect the dots and create a seamless union between them. I'm already working on this, there's still much work to be done before I release my own version of this story. Know that even though the beginning will be almost exactly the same, I have my own vision and direction on where to take the story, some situations will remain the same, but other will be some dramatically changed, I have my own ideas I want to implement and my own plot I want to develop. It's not a blatant stealing or plagiary; I have the authorization of the author to do this work. True I will rely heavily on his work and ideas, that is expected since I need them as foundation, but it will reach a point where the direction taken will be other and the story will become completely different from that of Madhat. You'll see, just think of it as two visions of the same story, like if Madhat's story is New Dimension, and mine would be Lost Canvas. Since he was so kind of giving permission of using his works madhat is free to do the same to me if he sees some idea of mine that he likes in this upcoming version of his story. But it will still take some time before I'm satisfied enough to release this story._

_Finally, I need to work also on the next chapter of The fist of the Warstar, so as you can see, I have a lot on my plate right now. So if you see that I go off the grid for a while, is just because I'm busy working on my stories, I will only release them when I feel satisfied and that could take a while to achieve. Just be patient they will be eventually be done._

_In the meantime you can read these recommendations of awesome stories from awesome authors to entertain yourselves in the interim. So remember to leave a review and I'll read you all later._

_Stories you should check.-_

Ysmir: The Dragon of The North.- by Glasvenster

Switching Places Evangelion.- by Greylle

No Tendo.- by Greylle

Starcraft: Reigns of War.- by TheWatcher2785

Victory at Ostagar.- by Arsinoe de Blassenville

Dragonsteeth.- by Arsinoe de Blassenville

The Mission Stays the Same.- by Ursakar

Just An Unorthodox Thief.- by The Infamous Man

Fate:Zero Sense.- by The Infamous Man

Spidey's Life is a Game!.- by RebukeX7

Warp Realities.- by Vahn

Property Damage.- by Kagaseo

He's A What?.- by Sin of the Fallen

Warslayer.- by JohnDeath

Avengers of the Ring.- by Dr Matthattan

An Acolyte of Zero.- by Shadenight123

Thu'um of A Distant Utopia.-by Delusional Fishies

And Hell Followed After Him.- by Harbinger Of Kaos

Inquisitor Carrow and the GodEmperorless Heathens, Inquisitor Carrow and the Bureaucracy of Failure.- by littlewhitecat

Overlord of Souls, Pirate Overlord, Overlord of Pandora, Tolkien Overlords, Federation Overlord.- by Omega Overlord

Thousand Shinji.- by Academia Nut

Heir to the Empire.- by Ozzallos

Hell is a Martial Artist.- by Ozzallos


	24. You're one of us now

**Author's note: **Ok, here I'm back to this story after who knows how long. Sorry for the wait, but If you been keeping an eye on my profile, you should know I've been pretty busy with my other stories. In fact, they are the only thing I've been having in my mind as of late, sorry for the blatant disregard but its true. Blame the plot bunnies for it; they have practically kidnapped my interest. Anyway it's not like I'm abandoning this story or anything, it's just that right now all my efforts are centered elsewhere due to a surge of creativity for those other stories. The easiest thing would be to wait for when I burn out that surge so I can return to this story with my full focus. Otherwise I will not be totally paying attention to what I'm doing since my mind would be elsewhere. That's why this chapter is relatively short; in fact I wasn't going to return to this story yet. The only reason I wrote this chapter, in a hurry I might add, was because a fellow user actually begged me through a PM to continue this story, since I aim to please my audience… Here we are.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter even if it is a little on the short side, just to let you know this story is not dead.

**DISCLAIMER**: I own nothing all belongs to EA.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 21<strong>

**YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW**

After getting down of the train-fortress, the ground team found itself back to the forest where they began they journey into wonderland. Knowing that a train station had been available from the beginning which could, in theory, greatly cut their traveling time and allowed them to bypass most of the pit filled landscape, made almost all the members of Shepard team to have a hard time to restrain themselves from blowing their entire surroundings in anger.

Jack just glared and complained at this revelation. "Motherfucker! Yet once more I see some shit that could have really helped us if just someone had fucking bothered to tell us about it in the first place. It's like this place is intentionally fucking with us just to see how pissed off we can get. I'm so fucking mad right now that I want to shoot something." She turned around and looked right at Cheshire, grinning maniacally before pulling the trigger of her shotgun.

The ever smiling cat simply faded away in an instant in order to avoid the shoot, he reapeared once more, his features turning into a sneer. "Well, somebody got up on her wrong foot this morning…" The cat snarked, not aprecciating the murder attempt.

Shepard just sighed, trying to repress his annoyance. "Jack! Could you just please stop from trying to kill Chesire. I'm too tired to be breaking arguments right now." He said, almost pleading.

"Fuck that! You know you want to shoot him too! I'm just acting on what everybody is thinking but are too pussies to actually do." The bald woman rebuked, not willing to calm down, much to the commander's chagrin.

"Be as it may Jack, I would really appreciate it if you would stop from trying to kill our guide, no matter how annoying he may be. We're nearly back to the beginning of our journey, so pretty soon we all going to be inside the Normandy again and back into our rooms where we can rest and forget all about this experience." Shepard said, in a tired tone.

"I'll need several of those drinks you took to get sloshed enough to forget how crappy this day has been." Zaeed said, piping from his place back in the line.

Shepard just stared with a blank expression. "Just shut up and keep moving…"

* * *

><p>After walking for about 15 minutes away from the train station, Chesire led the group back to the gateway located inside the Normandy's hangar. The first thing Shepard did when he stepped back into his ship was to contact the ship's A.I. "EDI, how thing's been doing since we left. Has anyone of the crew tried to acces the gateway to wonderland?"<p>

EDI's voice replied immediately through the hangar's speakers. "None, Shepard. I've kept the entire hangar in lockdown since you left to avoid anyone from the crew from accessing the anomaly. There hasn't been anything major to report from the time you were away. Except mister Moreau constant complaints about having nothing to do but keep waiting on his seat with his thumb up his ass, and odd thing to comment since it is technically incorrect as he has been using his extranet connection on the helm to access several disreputable pornographic sites which goes against regulations on the proper use of such resources."

Suddenly the voice of Joker could be heard through the intercom saying something like. "Tattletale!" Obviously he was ignored. "Also, Doctor Chakwas will come along shortly to do a medical checkup on the entire ground team and has instructed me to keep all members in quarantine inside the hangar bay until she is done clearing you all. This just in case you're carrying some unknown patogen from your exploits inside the anomaly.

Sheppard just nodded at that, and ignored the groans of dissapointment from his companions behind him "Ok, fine by me. Tell doctor Chakwas to proceed. Alice, come stand by me. You're going to be next after the good doctor finishes with me. And I'm going to order her to do a whole physical on you" He said with authority and motioned the young woman to come forth.

Alice wasn't much keen of that idea and replied with a bit of unease. "What do you mean by a whole physical? I hope you don't mean to do something untowards to my person."

Shepard couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. "I mean a complete physical examination. That way we can detect if there is any kind of health problem or condition with your body, like for example, malnutrition and take steps to correct it." He explained.

Alice visibly flinched at that. "Would this mean even more tests like the ones I had when I first came into your ship?" She asked, dreading the notion of spending more hours doing another battery of dull tests. Sure, the kinds of tests employed by the medic aboard the Normandy are leagues above the torture methods used by the staff of Rutledge, which she really appreciates. And doctor Chakwas was a nice refined woman that she enjoyed talking to, but it was just so tedious having to remain sitting still in the same spot for hours while someone waves one of those glowing contraptions in front of her; the only change of pace being when they tell her to lay down on one of their plastic beds and have strange machines hovering around her from all sides, running lines of light through her entire body. Weird but innocuous, sometimes annoying, but ultimately boring, leaving her mentally tired of the whole ordeal.

Shepard seemed to know exactly what was bothering her. "I'm sorry Alice, but it is standard regulation. All members of the crew must go through a mandatory physical and mental evaluation in order to deem them fit to serve on this ship without any complication." He elaborated, trying to reassure the girl.

Alice seemed to accept his answer and nodded. "Very well, I suppose that makes sense. I mean, I should have realized that you would need only the best of the best to be able to man this advance and marvelous vessel… But what I don't understand is how that applies to me? Am I one of your crew now?" She asked pointedly.

"But of course Alice." The commander replied immediately without hesitation. "You're part of this team now, and that makes you one of us, with all the benefits and obligations attached to it."

Alice smiled at Shepard's declaration. "Thanks commander, I really appreciate you consider me part of your crew already… Well, I suppose I should go through those tests after all. You know, take one for the team and all that."

"That's the spirit Alice." The commander said amicable and patted her in the head.

The girl suddenly became pensive. "But wait, you did say I had to undergo a mental evaluation too… Isn't that a little counterproductive? I mean I believe is pretty clear to everybody by now that I'm not completely all there in the head."

"Fuck, ain't that the truth!" Said a sarcastic comment of Jack from behind them, as the rest of the ground team could clearly hear their conversation.

Shepard just ignored it and limited himself to answer Alice's question. "Yes Alice, as I had stated already, it's mandatory for all members of the crew to undergo a physical as well as a psychological evaluation. So you will have to go and speak with the ship's shrink after Doctor Chakwas gives you a clean bill of health. And before you start; no Alice, the psychologists of this day and age are nothing like the ones you know. I know you must have strong misgivings about meeting with a shrink because of that horrible asylum we rescued you from. But I assure you, Kelly will not try to do anything to hurt or force you to do anything you wouldn't like"

"Oh…? Well, that's good to know. Sorry if I seemed to doubt of your word for a moment, commander… It's just that, after the asylum, I wasn't left with a great fondness of doctors as you may guess. I'm sure whoever you have as your resident psychologist must be a wonderful person if you're so willing to vouche for… her, I presume. It's just that, and forgive me if you consider me rude, I really don't care to meet her. In fact, I would prefer if I didn't have to meet another psychologist for the rest of my life. They always lie to me, they say they're going to try to make me better and all they really do is hurt me and leaving me even madder than I was before." Alice replied, trying not to act nervous and wringing her hands together.

"It's alright Alice, I understand, considering what you must have gone through. I can't even begin to imagine what you must have suffered; I saw what those people did to their patients in that asylum, and the thought of you having to go through those things… It just pisses me off, sorry for the language. But all I'll just ask you to do is avoid from distrusting anyone of my crew. Know that they are all good people, many who I would personally trust with my life, and that they would never try to do anything to you that I would disaprove off." Shepard said, not unkindly.

His words seemed to be effective in ressuring Alice, who simply nodded meekly in acknowledgement. "Allright, Commander… I'll try to avoid my misgivings from influencing my treatment of your crewmates."

"That's all I ask, Alice." Shepard replied with a smile.

Pretty soon, after waiting only for a few minutes, the blast doors of the hangar unlocked an opened, revealing Doctor Chakwas who strode inside the bay. Alice saw the kind-faced medic, and the first thing to come to her mind was to wonder about her strange full-body tight suit of all things. She had seen several people wearing that kind of attire too when Shepard had taken her to visit the Citadel. Must be some trend thing of this day and age, because Alice certainly didn't cared much about that fashion, find it a little bit too revealing for her tastes.

The older woman approached the Commander who greeted her promptly "Hey doc, ready for your little examination? I was just telling Alice here that I would also like for her to go through a complete physical after you're done clearing us from any possible virus in order to deal with any complication she may have."

The senior physician simply brought a hand to her chin in thought when hearing those instructions. "Well, Shepard I'm not against carrying further tests on young Alice here if that is what you deem best. But didn't we had already carried out an extensive examination on her person last time she was here before you had to go traipsing who knows where in search for her? I don't know if there is anything else that further tests would be able to reveal, at least not as long all of our equipment keeps getting haywire every time we try to take a read of her." The old lady pointed out.

"There has been some… New revelations that have made me decide it would be best to carry on with more thorough examinations." Shepard said, thinking on Alice real appearance under that illusion she's always cloaked in. He really hadn't liked what he saw, and thought it worrisome that she may be victim of abuse.

"If that is your wish commander…" Chakwas said, accepting Shepard decision. "In the meantime, let's carry on with this check up and see if you are carrying something. If you could please stand over here, Shepard." The old woman motioned, pulling out a scanner. Soon enough they were done and Chakwas gave Shepard the green light to leave the hangar.

"Make sure to check Alice next before anyone else." The commander ordered to the senior physician.

Chakwas blinked for a moment in puzzlement. "Are you sure, commander? I was planning on leaving Alice for last, you know, due to that little trait she posses that causes machines to malfunction." She said, a little unsure.

Shepard just confirmed his decision with a nod. "I'm sure Doc. Remember those discoveries I mentioned… Well, this is when they come to play." He turned towards Alice with a determined expression. "Alice, if you would be so kind as to drop your illusion so that Chakwas may take a good look at you."

The Victorian girl simply turned at him with a horrified expression. "Wha… What!? Why should I have to do something like that!? Is it really necessary!?"

Shepard looked her in the eyes and put his hands on her shoulders to reassure her. "Alice, please! I don't know what might have happened to you; In fact I don't want to even imagine it. But you must understand, we are not like the people who hurt you, I do not condone torture or oppression against innocent people. I would never let something like what happened to you occur under my watch; neither would most of the people under my command too. After all we have been through, can't you trust in me and the others…?" He asked seriously, never taking his eyes from her.

The girl lowered her gaze in thought for a long moment, until finally, after her silence had stretched enough to become akward, did she looked up again and aknowledged Shepard request with a nod. "Alright Commander, I'll take a chance and trust in your judgement on this. Just… Give me a moment…" She said quietly and hesitantly."

"Take all the time you need, Alice. There's no hurry."

Alice took him at his word and took her time to calm down; she turned her gaze hesitantly from the commander to the expectantly veteran medic and then to every single member of the ground team. Some of them were kind enough to offer reassuring smiles, like Garrus, Kasumi and Mordin. Others like Miranda, Zaeed and Jacob just nodded at her encouragengly. Jack simply blew her off and Grunt just… _grunted_ in dismissal. How cheerful of them.

In the end Alice decided to drop the illusion she uses to protect herself and show them the real her that lies underneath, after all they all had risked their lives and braved wonderland to find her and lead her out of Rutledge, the least she could do is give them some trust to show her grattitude.

Alice took a long breath to gather her courage and finally dropped the glamour that cloaked her, revealing the frail and small girl she was in reality. Doctor Chakwas was immediately at her side with a serious expression as she began to take readings and examine her. It seemed without the Illusion covering herm Chakwas was able to finally take exact reading of her person and assess her health's condition.

After a few minutes, Chakwas addressed the Commander, concern etched on her face. "I don't like what I am seeing here Shepard. This girl is clearly of poor health, besides the obvious signs of malnutrition and lack of sleep; I have found also signs of abuse. All these things have clearly impacted her development and stunted her growth. If we don't do something soon, this little girl will have serious complications once she reaches adulthood." The old medic said with urgency.

"Do not talk about me as if I were a child!? I'll let you know I have already reached twenty just last month." Alice said a little indignated, her nervousness forgotten as her usual uppity attitude began to take hold again.

Shepard and Chakwas shared a look that clearly told neither of them did like that new revelation. "Shepard, I would like you to escort Miss Alice here to the med bay at once and wait for me in there. I'll join you later after I have cleared the rest of your team for infections." Chakwas said, before dismissing the commander to allow her to work without interruption.

Shepard led Alice out of the hangar Bay and into the elevator towards the floor were the med bay was located, there the girl decided to have a word with the commander. "Would you mind to tell me what it was that made Doctor Chakwas to be that upset."

Shepard just turned at her with a flat expression. "C'mon Alice, you can't be that dense. Surely you're aware of the poor health you posses, I mean, I'm sure most girls your age do not suffer the same physical incapacities you have?" He pointed out,

Alice just rubbed her arm a little uneasily. "I know I'm not as developed as other girls my age, but that's no reason to get all worked up. I mean it's not as if there's something that can be done about it at this point, so why worry about things beyond one's control." She said with a shrug.

"Well, that's where you're wrong Alice, because we can surely do something to correct all the health problems you have. We have the knowledge, we have the technology, we have the resources, but we must act fast before we reach a point were it will be too late to help you even with all our medical advances." Shepard stated firmly.

The girl relented under his counterargument and let out a sigh in defeat. "Very well Commander, I'll trust in your wisdom."

"Good… C'mon Alice don't look so down, it's not going to be anything bad. It'll will be more like being pampered by an over protective mother-hen."

The British girl simply raised an eyebrow at that explanation. "I don't know, that sounds still pretty horrorific to me." She said with a straight face.

Shepard just laughed at her reaction.

* * *

><p>Soon enough, they reached the correct floor and promptly got inside the medical bay. Shepard decided to make Alice company while they waited for Doctor Chakwas, not only to pass the time faster, but also to keep an eye on the girl and make sure she didn't get into trouble. It wouldn't do to have her poking around without supervision over the expensive equipment inside the Med-bay, certainly he wasn't willing to push his luck with the Illusive Man and ask him for funds to replace any piece of broken equipment.<p>

Eventually, around half an hour later, Doctor Chakwas finally returned to the Med-bay and promptly set herself to work on the frail girl. "Alright Commander I'm done, thank you for your patience. Everybody from the ground team were cleared to enter back on the ship, they all gave negative on any possible unknown contagion." She said as soon as she walked through the airlock into the Med-bay.

Shepard replied to those news with a nod. "That's good to hear doctor."

"Indeed, now if you excuse us commander, I require a little privacy to give Alice her physical." Chakwas said, hinting for Shepard to leave.

The Commander acknowledged the request of his head medical officer. "I'll leave you to it Doc. Make sure to inform me when you have the results." Shepard turned towards Alice before leaving. "See you later kid, make sure not to give Doctor Chakwas too much trouble. I know you consider all these tests a hassle, but the least problems you cause for the doctor, the sooner she will be done with her tests and the sooner you'll be able to get out of here." He said kindly.

The girl in question simply looked up at him from were she was sitting and replied. "I'm always on my best behavior, Commander. My parents made sure to teach me proper manners." She stated firmly.

Shepard just smiled at her response. "That's good Alice. Alright, I'll see you ladies later…" He said before finally walking out the med bay. As soon as he stepped out into the mess hall, the voice of EDI began to chime through the ship's speakers.

"Commander Shepard, the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you in the Conference Room."

Shepard let out a sigh, before looking up and replying to the A.I. "I'll be right there EDI." He said, before making his way into the elevator.

* * *

><p>Shepard entered inside the conference room, the table rounding in the middle, descending inside the floor as the Quantum Entanglement Comunicator began to activate. He stepped on the holo-platform and soon he was greeted by a 3-Dimensional life-size hologram of the most wanted known human terrorist in the entire galaxy.<p>

"Greetings Shepard, I'm glad to see you're still in good health. I had recently heard you had gone in an expedition to chart a space-time anomaly. Quite a reckless enterprise if I say so myself, we can ill afford to lose you at this juncture of our mission due to curiosity. But at least, I hope you had managed to get something useful out of this venture." The Illusive man said, as he took his cigarrete out from his mouth and set it over a nearby ashtray.

"I take it you must know about our little incursion into wonderland?" Shepard said crossing his arms.

"Indeed Commander, I was surprised to know that a place believed to exist only in books and the collective conciousness of humanity might actually be real. But then again, taking into account the impossible things this girl Alice has been reported to accomplish, I think I should have had an open mind to the possibility in the first place. But regardless of these interesting developments, right now they prove nothing more but a distraction of our real objective." The Illusive Man said with a pointed glance at Shepard.

"You should not worry about any more deviations from my mission; this was a necessary trip to secure a powerful ally for my team." Said Shepard trying to be diplomatic, even though he despised the way the Illusive man tried to butt into his bussiness.

"Well, I suppose it was unavoidable. At least you made sure to secure a valuable asset that will no doubt prove handy in the future." The Illusive man said almost lazily as he brought his cigarrete back into his mouth. Shepard refrained from commenting. "Anyway, that is not the only thing I called you to talk about, Shepard. I have some important recent information to share with you." The well-dressed man added.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, quizzicaly. "Oh? And what might that be?"

The Illusive man took his time to take a drag from his cigarette before answering. "The Collectors… I think we have them! One of our colonies in the Terminus Systems just went silent." He began to say as a holo-display of the galaxy appeared near the Illusive man's chair, pointing the coordinates of the colony in question. "If it isn't under attack, it'll soon be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?" He asked pointedly.

"Not yet." Was Shepard simple reply.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure. There's something else you should know." TIM said as he took another drag of his cigarette. "One of your former crew, Ashley Williams… She's stationed in Horizon."

"Last I knew, Ash was Aliiance. Why is she out in the Terminus Systems?" The Commander asked in confusion.

"Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies." TIM replied. "But they're up to something. And if they sent chief Williams, it must be big."

"So the Collectors simply happened to pick a colony with one of my former crew? I don't buy it." Shepard said in suspicion, feeling something was up.

"It shouldn't be a surprise the collectors are interested in you. Especially if they are working for the Reapers." The Illusive Man hinted. "They might be going after her to get to you."

"If that's the case, I should go and speak right now with the Council again while I'm still in the Citadel. The Alliance can give us reinforcements" Shepard commented sensibly.

The Illusive Man however, was against that idea. "Not until you investigate. I don't want the Alliance getting in our way. Once you have the situation under control, I'll send a message to the Citadel personally."

Shepard was suspicious of The Illusive Man's motives for wanting to keep the Alliance out of the loop, but decided to comply with the wishes of the leader of Cerberus for the moment. He decided to end the conversation and go on his way. "Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."

"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard. Good Luck." Were TIM's last words before cutting the connection.

Shepard leaved the conference room, worry marrying his features. It seemed the collectors were making their next move, he knew this was a golden opportunity to try to stop them from taking more collonists, but he knew they had to deal with Alice's health condition while they were still docked in the Citadel as to secure the supplies nedded for her treatment. After all, she wouldn't be of much help in the battlefield if she starts to have medical complications during a firefight. That could prove disastrous and endanger the rest of the team. But he also knew they couldn't waste much time or the Collectors would give them the slip and who knows when another opportunity like this would arise.

Shepard knew he had to take a decision so he looked up and adressed the ship's A.I. that no doubt was watching over him. "EDI, tell the crew to prepare for an immediate departure and tell Garrus and Jacob to be ready for a last minute supply run into the Citadel as soon as I get word from Doctor Chakwas about Alice's condition."

"It will be done Shepard." The little A.I.'s voice chimed from behind him as Shepard was already walking out from the corridor to visit Mordin, he decided to check on the professor's progress while he waited for word from Doctor Chakwas.

* * *

><p><em>That's it for the moment, as I had said sorry for the short chapter but I'm pretty busy right. I'm always such in a rush since I started trying to fulfill this weekly update schedule. No time to talk, gotta keep working.<em>


End file.
